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Student who stood up to school for a flag on his truck gets HUGE patriotic surprise

March 22, 2024 | | Print Article

An Indiana high school student reportedly received a complementary paint job for his pickup truck after his school tried to block him from displaying the American flag.

East Central High School senior Cameron Blasek displayed the American flag on his truck for most of the school year, up until school officials started complaining that doing so violated rules.

“I was shocked — didn’t really expect it,” Blasek said in an interview with Fox News. “They had told me if you don’t remove this flag, you’re getting written up for insubordination. And I told them, hey, you know, there’s no rules or regulations saying I can’t. I read the [rules] off their handbook.”

Afterward, other students reportedly began flying the flag on their cars, prompting the story to go viral.

“I guess other students had heard about that, and they showed up the next day with flags on the back of their vehicles,” Blasek said.

The trick worked like a charm, inspiring school officials to reverse their decision:

But something else also happened.

GCI Digital, a graphics manufacturer in nearby Cincinnati, decided to gift Blasek with a custom American flag paint job for his truck.

“We saw Cameron’s story and it resonated with us in a lot of ways,” GCI Digital owner TJ Bedacht told Fox News. “The truck was his grandfather’s and Cameron is a true American, interested in serving in the US Military.”

Blasek is, for his part, enamored by the new design.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s only been one day at school so far, but, I think it’s great. I love driving around with the big flag all over the vehicle. I think it’s awesome.”

“I think the American flag represents people who fought and served for this country and lost their lives. But I also think it represents a sense of unity in this country. I think it’s something that everybody can agree on, no matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like. I think that’s something that can bring people together,” he continued.

He added that there’s a lesson to be learned from all this.

“Stand for what you believe in,” he said. “Hold your ground on any situation that you believe in.”

In a statement to Fox News, East Central High School principal Tom Black claimed it was never specifically about the U.S. flag.

“It was regarding all flags on vehicles,” he said. “This is due to potential safety issues with visibility and 500-600 teenage drivers leaving at the same time during dismissal, as well as concerns that flags that are not appropriate for school will be displayed.”

Sadly, not every situation like this has concluded with a happy ending. Last August, one Virginia teen dropped out of school and entered into homeschooling after officials at his high school told him to remove two American flags from his pickup truck.

“My family fought for America, and I feel like I should be able to represent the flags that they fought for,” the teen, Christopher Hartless, told local media at the time.

As previously reported, he was told by officials at Staunton River High School in Bedford County that he had to remove the two large flags that were mounted to the back of his pickup truck, an order that the patriotic young man believed was a violation of his First Amendment rights.

The school explained that the flying of the flags was a distraction and that such large flags were not permitted to be flown for safety reasons, according to local media. After he declined to comply, the school’s administration stripped him of his parking pass, forcing him to ride the bus for transportation.

Vivek Saxena
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