Edmond North High School senior Caleb Horst was recently told to stop flying an American flag on his truck.
Horst told KOCO News that school officials told him on August 23 that he could no longer fly the flag from the truck he drives to school every morning.
“I’ve been flying it for quite a while,” said Horst, confused about the timing.
He continued, “I’ve never really had problems with it before, and it’s our First Amendment, so it’s kind of hard for them to infringe upon our rights.”
According to KOCO News, it is not a policy within Edmond Public Schools but more of a “practice not to fly any flags on campus.” The school has a list of practices they enforce but cannot call them policies because the Board of Education does not approve them.
Even though it’s not officially a district policy, Horst was told that his truck should be flag-free by the next Monday morning.
When Horst told his friend about getting in trouble, they didn’t take it lying down.
Horst’s friends and classmates have all put flags on their own vehicles, supporting Horst.
Vance Miller, another senior at Edmond North High School, said, “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 allow to fly it.’ It’d be different if we were trying to make a political statement, but there’s nothing political about it.”
Miller continued, “It represents us, it’s unity, it represents us as one and it’s our freedom, we have people that fight and die for that flag every day so I think we should be allowed to fly it.”
Horst’s parents and fellow students planned a rally to support his right to fly the American flag.
In a news interview with KOCO, Horst’s dad revealed that his son flew the flag on his truck all last year, so he is also wondering, “Why now?”
Horst’s dad is also issuing a warning to folks who are not protesting is a positive way. he noted some instances where people were calling the school’s front office and cursing them out. He says that is the wrong way to protest.
Nearly 50 vehicles came out for the rally in support of Horst.
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In response, Edmond Public Schools released a statement clarifying the ruling.
“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.
“To be clear, this is not about the American flag or patriotism. Edmond Public Schools proudly displays the American flag prominently and in the proper, respectful way outside each of our buildings and in our classrooms. Not only do we recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning as we start our school day, but we also present the colors and play the national anthem at most of our athletic events. All of these things are done in the proper fashion according to flag etiquette.”
See KOCO’s reporting on the incident below.