School Reinstates Young Colorado Student Who Was Thrown Out of Class For Gadsden Flag Patch on Backpack

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Aug 30, 2023

On August 28, 2023, a student at a charter school in Colorado Springs was kicked out of class for donning a Gadsen flag patch on his backpack. This patch raised concerns among administrators. 

The student was a 12-year old identified as Jaiden and was informed that the flag violated school policy concerning the display of symbols that “refer to drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or weapons,” and that he had to get rid the patch if he wanted to go back to class

“The reason we do not want the flag displayed is due to its origins with slavery and the slave trade,” an administrator stated in a secretly recorded meeting with Jaiden and his mother.

“It has nothing to do with slavery,” Jaiden’s mother said in response. “That’s the Revolutionary War patch that was displayed when they were fighting the British. Maybe you’re thinking of the Confederate flag?”

She continued sounding off by criticizing the school for engaging in a double standard with respect to political symbolism. Jaiden added that countless other students donned political patches on their backpacks and never received punishment for them

The administrator claimed she was just complying with district policy, and suggested to Jaiden’s mother that she reach out to the school’s director Jeff Yocum, who could subsequently refer her to contacts at Harrison School District 2.

“You’re going over the revolution for seventh grade,” Jaiden’s mother said, continuing, “the founding fathers stood up for what they believed in against unjust laws. This is unjust.”

In email correspondence that came after the initial interaction, Yocum informed Jaiden and his mother that the flag was “tied to the Confederate flag and other white-supremacy groups.” To demonstrate his point, he alluded to sources that acknowledge that although the symbol “originated in the Revolutionary War in a non-racial context,” it “has since been sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages.”

This controversy provoked fierce backlash on X where many users took sides with Jaiden and his mother, calling attention to how the rattlesnake imagery on the Gadsden flag was inspired by Benjamin Franklin, who “spent the latter part of his life petitioning Congress to free the South’s slave.”

The Vanguard School District eventually published a statement supporting the student and the “historical significance of the Gadsden flag and its place in history…VSD and the District have informed the student’s family that he may attend school with the Gadsden flag patch visible on his backpack.”

The backlash clearly had an impact on the administrators which prompted them to reverse course on their action against Jaiden. Whether it’s a public, charter, or private school, the overwhelming majority of public schools in the US function as leftist indoctrination centers. So it’s to be expected that politically correct policies are imposed on the student body. 

Concerned parents and their fellow travelers must be prepared to raise hell when their students are subjected to leftist indoctrination or are harassed for their right-wing views. Ultimately, the reason that these schools can get away with such behavior is because people don’t stand up to these leftist bullies.

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