Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rebel Flag Leads To Uncivil Actions

By JOHN MILLER

A Confederate flag bandanna led to an altercation, which resulted in two Gurdon High Students being suspended.

It also caused a special called meeting of the Gurdon School Board Monday night.

According to the victim's mother, the daughter dressed up for Halloween in her father's hunting clothes. She used the flag bandanna to tie her hair up so she could put it under an orange hunting cap.

However, while in class, after the teacher left the room, a black male student allegedly asked her what she was wearing, referring to the flag.

He then reportedly threatened to hit her with a book, and she got up to leave the room.

The mother said the boy called her daughter a name, with her responding with a racial slur as she left. He reportedly followed her out of the room and struck her on the left side of the head with his fist. After hitting the girl, the boy allegedly returned to his seat in class, while she screamed in the hallway.

According to the girl's mother, she didn't know if the boy was playing or not when he threatened her with the book, but knew he wasn't playing when he hit her with his fist.

While the mother said she doesn't agree with what her daughter called the boy, she told the board the young man was the aggressor and argued with her daughter getting a two-day suspension.

The boy in question was suspended for five days, and the board will reconvene Thursday night to determine whether or not he will be expelled.

This student reportedly came to Gurdon from Prescott after transferring to that district from Camden Fairview.

The mother said her daughter has no history of causing trouble, and was not looking for trouble when she wore the bandanna as part of her Halloween outfit.

"The Confederate flag stands for more than racism," the mother said. "Blacks also fought for the South (during the Civil War). Those who have a problem with the flag have a problem with racism."

The mother said this incident is tantamount to a girl wearing a short skirt asking to be raped, or a woman who talks back to her husband is asking to be beaten.

The daughter, the mother said, said the most offensive thing she could think of out of fear and embarrassment, not to be racist.

"It's not a black-white thing," the mother said. "It's a disagreement between a boy and a girl. It's not fair she got suspended with him being the aggressor.

"The witnesses didn't see her get hit in the hall. No one was there. This wouldn't have happened if an adult had been there."

The mother said her daughter may have been suspended as a means of keeping racial tension down.

She pointed out the bus policy which gets children removed after being warned three times for infractions such as name calling. However, she said her daughter has yet to receive her first warning, and was summarily suspended for her first offense.

The mother also pointed out those students who dressed in witch costumes for Halloween were not necessarily Satanist, or involved in the occult.

"I feel she was suspended to satisfy both sides," she said. "She didn't start it or try to pick a fight. We're talking about what's fair."

She said those parents in the audience were on hand to see how the board handled this situation and what guarantees it could give them as to the safety of their children.

Gurdon High School Principal Leonard Gills said the problem is a difference of opinion in the statements of the incident.

Gills said the girl reportedly called the boy a racial name twice and never denied hitting her. He said the boy was given a five day suspension and could be expelled for his actions. This decision is not unreasonable, Gill said.

Bobby Smithson, Gurdon superintendent, agreed the teacher shouldn't have left the room, but this was an emergency situation for her.

He said because there is extra help in the GHS office, in the future teachers will be required to call and ask for an adult to come to their classrooms before leaving them.

He added teachers should stand in their doorways between classes to watch the students in the halls, but admitted this is not being done consistently by the majority of instructors.

"Some districts have guards," he said. "I hope it never comes to that here."

He continued saying Gill believed the girl should be punished along with the boy, and rarely undermines his decisions.

Board member Billy Tarpley said this is one of those instances where there is no right or wrong, because the problem is on both sides. He said it would set a dangerous precedent if the board overruled the principal's decision because the district's governing body would be meeting every night over similar issues.

"We have to deal with troublemakers on an individual basis," he said, "and do what's best for all the students in the district."

Tarpley said if he had his way, all students would be in uniform and there would be no "sagging" or wearing of "gang-style" clothing, which could cut down on trouble.

The mother reiterated the bandanna was not in plane sight, but was under a cap. She said if she or her husband had expected any trouble they wouldn't have let their daughter wear it to school.

Tarpley said the flag issue didn't concern him, but the verbal exchange between the students did, and because of it he couldn't overrule Gill's decision.

The other three members of the board on hand at the time were polled by the mother as to their feelings, with all standing behind the GHS principal.

Gills said the boy was charged with physical abuse and assault when being suspended, while the girl was charged with abuse of another individual. Both offenses, he said, call for suspension under the handbook.

The young lady in question said had she known she would be suspended, she would have attempted to physically retaliate against her attacker. However, she told the board she didn't because she didn't want to be suspended.

Gills reminded the mother and daughter he had offered to allow her to stay in school but attend in school suspension (ISS), with this offer being refused.

The young lady told the board she is now afraid to return to school because threats have been made toward her for what she said.

She said she has a lot of black friends and is sorry if she offended them with what she called the boy.

Tarpley sympathized with the girl's plight, saying the boy acted in a way you can't in our society, but was unwilling to go against Gills' decision.

Gills said if she feels threatened the school can call the Clark County Sheriff's Office and have a deputy escort her to class. Smithson told him to do it.

"You've given us the message you don't want to be here dealing with this," the mother said. "If you give others warnings for name calling, but suspend my daughter, why have rules or a handbook."

She said Gills had been asked to