American Flag Shirt Incident Settling Down

(Friday, May 7, 2010)-- As Friday slowly unfolds into the weekend - Live Oak High School students still reeling from the national spotlight that has shined on the school for three days - took some time during their lunch period today to just breathe and reflect on what transpired since Cinco de Mayo.

"Our school's not known for racism," sophomore Justina Piedra said shaking her head. "Our school is actually a really good school. Everybody gets along with everybody, except these past three days it's been living hell for everybody."

That living hell, students said, began when four Morgan Hill students who wore red, white and blue patriotic clothing on Cinco de Mayo, were sent home by administrators to quell any potential violence. One student said Vice Principal Miguel Rodriguez called the T-shirts "incendiary."

"They said we were starting a fight, we were fuel to the fire," said Matt Dariano, a sophomore, and one of the students sent home.

Today, many LOHS students wore white and purple to show their solidarity with one another and as a outward expression of peace and unity. At lunch, hundreds gathered in the quad area at Live Oak to dispel the rumors and tension, they say, that was caused by the national media that used a bad decision by their administrators to send home Daniel Galli, Dominic Maciel, Matt Dariano and Austin Carvalho, as an unfair quick glance at Live Oak.

The four students' parents were called into a conference Wednesday after brunch with Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez and Principal Nick Boden who sent the students home with an unexcused absence, not suspension.

Students held an American flag and Mexican flag up - they stood together - said Jessica Serpa, a freshman, and proclaimed "we should stop this."

More than 200 Hispanic teens skipped school Thursday and marched through Morgan Hill yelling "We want respect!" and "Si se puedes!" At least six Morgan Hill police cars and several sheriff's vehicles caravanned alongside the line of teens wearing red, white and green and carrying Mexican flags.

The crowd - mostly high school students - left school Thursday morning after the story of four students who were sent home because they wore American flag T-shirts went viral on TV and online.

The students say they want people to know they're proud of their heritage and those who wore red, white and blue on Cinco de Mayo weren't showing them any respect.

The school district and Live Oak has been submerged in the national spotlight on radio stations, FOX news and other national shows, and splashed all over the Internet since May 5. Extra police were stationed at Live Oak Thursday and Friday to prevent potential violence. None was reported.

Superintendent Wes Smith held a press conference today to address the situation that he called "unfortunate." Live Oak Principal Nick Boden was not at the press conference held at the school district office at 11:45 a.m., but did issue an apology addressed to the Live Oak community. In it, Boden apologized for the impact the controversy made.

"In this situation, I may have moved too quickly in drawing the line of when to take preventative action," Boden wrote.

Smith was clear on his position of the national media trying to pigeon hole Live Oak or Morgan Hill as a hotbed for racial tension.

"This is not Live Oak, they don't know us," Smith said in an interview this afternoon. "We know our town, we know our kids and the incident was regrettable, mistakes were made. But it doesn't define us."

It was the level of maturity that came from Live Oak students Friday at lunch during their peaceful meeting that now has everyone talking.

"The adults (on campus) were in awe of how these kids were coming together," Smith said. "It's a metaphor for how we move forward, that we're not what those people are saying about us, we want to get along, we want to work this out."

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