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Troops banned from school

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NE Bull:


PROVIDENCE, R.I. ? Christan Morales said her son just wanted to honor American troops when he wore a hat to school decorated with an American flag and small plastic Army figures.

But the school banned the hat because it ran afoul of the district's zero-tolerance weapons policy. Why? The toy soldiers were carrying tiny guns.

"His teacher called and said it wasn't appropriate," Morales said.

Morales' 8-year-old son, David, had been assigned to make a hat for the day when his second-grade class would meet their pen pals from another school. She and her son came up with an idea to add patriotic decorations to a camouflage hat.

Earlier this week, after the hat was banned, the principal at the Tiogue School in Coventry told the family that the hat would be fine if David replaced the Army men holding weapons with ones that didn't have any, according to Superintendent Kenneth R. Di Pietro.

But, Morales said, the family had only one Army figure without a weapon (he was carrying binoculars), so David wore a plain baseball cap on the day of the pen pal meeting.

"Nothing was being done to limit patriotism, creativity, other than find an alternative to a weapon," Di Pietro said.

The district does not allow images of weapons or drugs on clothing. For example, a student would not be permitted to wear a shirt with a picture of a marijuana leaf on it, the superintendent said.

The principal "wasn't denying the patriotism," he said. "That just is the wrong and unfair image of one of our finest principals."

On Thursday, Di Pietro and the principal met with the retired commander of the Rhode Island National Guard, at the commander's request.

Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio praised the school system for supporting the military in the past, including with a junior ROTC program.

But he said he disagreed with the decision to ban the hat and hoped it offered a chance for the school to review its policies.

"The American soldier is armed. That's why they're called the armed forces," he said. "If you're going to portray it any other way, you miss the point."

He said he intends to give David a medal to express veterans' appreciation that he would pay tribute to their service.

Morales said her son was inspired to honor the military after striking up a friendship last summer with a neighbor in the Army.

Banning the hat "sent the wrong message to the kids, because it wasn't in any way to cause any harm to anyone," she said. "You're talking about Army men. This wasn't about guns."


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DanClrk51:
Yes it was about guns! It was about the school system's bias against guns! They are biased against weapons of any kind. Weapons are a constitutional right and schools should respect that. This school system takes up issue with the 2nd Amendment and it squashes the 1st Amendment in order to suffocate the 2nd Amendment. The zero tolerance policy is outright ridiculous and hateful towards our rights! Communist/left/liberal/fascist school teachers and officials like this should be charged with a hate crime. They should also be fired for violating the students constitutional rights (1st & 2nd).

RLMoeller:

--- Quote ---"The American soldier is armed. That's why they're called the armed forces," he said. "If you're going to portray it any other way, you miss the point."
--- End quote ---

Exactly!



--- Quote ---They are biased against weapons of any kind. Weapons are a constitutional right and schools should respect that. This school system takes up issue with the 2nd Amendment and it squashes the 1st Amendment in order to suffocate the 2nd Amendment. The zero tolerance policy is outright ridiculous and hateful towards our rights! Communist/left/liberal/fascist school teachers and officials like this should be charged with a hate crime. They should also be fired for violating the students constitutional rights (1st & 2nd).
--- End quote ---

The really sad part in all of this is that these folks have blood on their hands and don't even know it.  They are playing a large part in disarming good people, some of whom go on to become victims.

RLMoeller:
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Rhode Island boy whose school banned a hat he made because the toy soldiers on it carried tiny guns was awarded a medal on Friday for his patriotic efforts.

Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio, the retired head of the Rhode Island National Guard, gave 8-year-old David Morales a medal called a challenge coin during an appearance on WPRO-AM's John DePetro show.

Centracchio said the second-grader should be thanked for recognizing veterans and soldiers.

"You did nothing wrong, and you did an outstanding job," he said. "We can only hope that kids of your caliber will continue to defend this country."

Centracchio also gave David a certificate that allows him to call himself a brigadier general.

David was assigned to make a hat last week for a project at the Tiogue School in Coventry. He chose a patriotic theme and glued plastic Army figures to a camouflage baseball cap. But school officials said the hat ran afoul of their no-weapons policy because the Army men held tiny guns.

The school has said David was offered the chance to wear the hat if he replaced the toy soldiers holding weapons with ones that didn't have any. Centracchio said that didn't make sense because soldiers are armed, and met with school administrators Thursday to share his concerns.

David said he felt great and called it an honor.

"I think it's really special," he said. "I'm going to definitely enjoy this day for a long time."

Also Friday, the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said it sent a letter to Coventry Superintendent Kenneth DiPietro saying the school's policy was an unconstitutional violation of students' free speech. It called on the district to revise the policy.

DiPietro did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

justsomeguy:
Wow ! Who would have thought the ACLU would defend patriotism? :o

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