An Oklahoma high school student got the patriotic support of his community after being told he could not fly the American flag on his truck.
Fellow students, parents, and even law enforcement rallied behind Caleb Horst, a senior at Edmond North High School, protesting the school’s ban on flying an American flag on his truck on campus and even getting the attention of actor John Schneider who cheered Horst on.
“I’ve been flying it for quite a while,” Horst told KOCO-TV.
“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,” he added after being told by school officials that he could no longer show his patriotism on school grounds.
(Video Credit: News 9 YouTube)
But Horst’s friends decided to take a stand and lined the school parking lot with vehicles proudly sporting the Stars and Stripes. On Monday, members of the community joined in as the school continued to come under scrutiny.
“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,” senior Vance Miller told the station. “It’d be different if we were trying to make a political statement, but there’s nothing political about it.”
“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,” Miller added.
Edmond Public School officials issued a statement to explain the “practice” of not allowing “flags of any kind” on school grounds:
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.
“If it’s the flag today, what is it tomorrow?” Lynn McNeely, who is the parent of an Edmond North student, said. “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?”
State Superintendent Ryan Walters said he would be investigating Edmond Public Schools.
“What are the guidelines here that the school is operating on because this seems like a very bizarre decision here,” Walters told KOCO.
“It sounds like they’re making a bunch of excuses to me, here’s the reality: you told the kid he couldn’t bring a flag onto campus, that is a ridiculous position, and it needs to be fixed,” he added. “This is a common sense one. We’re in the United States of America. One of the main purposes of our education system is to understand American history and to understand your responsibility as a citizen of this country.”
BREAKING: Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters says his dept will be issuing new guidelines to make sure students aren’t punished for being patriotic after a school told a student he can’t fly the American flag.
Thank you @RyanWaltersSupt! pic.twitter.com/XlAf6Uyh8H https://t.co/HG5mqJEuIc
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 26, 2024
“These are the kinds of people that we need to continue not only support, but to shout their names and their patriotism from our rooftops,” actor John Schneider said in a video message posted on Facebook.
“Caleb, you’re doing a great job… keep doing it, and I want you all to continue to back this wonderful young man,” the “Dukes of Hazzard” star said.
(Video Credit: Daily Mail)
“It felt pretty good to just see how many people were behind us,” Horst said of the support. “I know there’s a lot of people that aren’t behind us, but there’s probably even more that are, and it kind of was encouraging.”
“I’m really proud of these young people for wanting to fly an American flag,” Walters stated. “We need more of that, not less of that in our schools.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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