Oklahoma School Reprimands Student For Flying Old Glory

An Oklahoma high school told a student flying a flag from the back of his truck it was against school policy and demanded he remove it. He refused, and when other students, parents and community members caught wind of the incident, they didn't hesitate to rally around him.

Fox News reports:

Edmond North High School senior Caleb Horst said school officials told him on Aug. 21 that it was school practice to not bring flags onto campus. However, Horst told local news station KOCO that he's been flying the flag from his truck “for quite a while” without any problems.

On Monday morning before classes started, students and parents rallied to support Horst and the right to fly the flag. According to KOCO, about 50 vehicles displaying American flags circled the school in protest.

When asked about what motivated him to continue flying the flag, Horst explained, “I've got a brother in the military so it kind of hit home to me ‘cause I was like he's fighting for that flag, we should be allowed to fly it. It'd be different if we were trying to make a political statement, but there's nothing political about it,” 

Lynn McNeely, a supportive parent of another student asked in an interview, “If it's the flag today, what is it tomorrow? It's not a protest. It's not political. It's not about red. It's not about blue. It's about red, white and blue. So, where do we draw the line?”

The school was adamant that he wasn't singled out over the American flag, issuing the following statement:

“It is the practice of Edmond Public Schools to not permit students to fly or bring flags of any kind on our school campuses. This practice has been in place for several years and is explained to our students at the start of the school year along with various other policies and procedures. This is designed to prevent disruptions and distractions during the school day. It is also done in an effort to provide a safe school environment as flying flags on vehicles creates safety issues in the parking lot as well as can cause damage to other vehicles.”

Dukes of Hazzard's John Schneider praised the senior in a public supportive Facebook video.

“I want to applaud Caleb Horst and all of the wonderful people who are supporting him in Edmond, Oklahoma. Everyone who has shown up with flags on their trucks and flags on their cars, these are the kinds of people we need to not only support but shout their names and their patriotism from our rooftops and from our bumpers.”

This isn't the first situation of its kind. A year ago, a Virginia teen found himself in an almost identical predicament.

Staunton River High School reprimanded senior Christopher Hartless for flying a flag on the back of his truck, claiming that it posed a safety concern and could distract other drivers. His parking pass was revoked forcing his family to homeschool him as they didn't want him taking the bus.