If there’s one thing that the people of the Bay Area can easily agree upon, is that the idea that the U.S. is a salad bowl of various different nationalities. The influx of multiethnic immigrants and citizens into the U.S.—more specifically California—can be attributed to the freedom of expression guaranteed to every individual in this country. With that being said, there are also those few extremists who fail to understand that the equality of rights is a responsibility for each and every American.

This is why I find it so baffling that a simple suspension from school was the best way to maintain order in a public  institution when a few students from Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill decided to flaunt their patriotism by wearing U.S. flag T-shirts to school on Cinco de Mayo, a predominantly Mexican holiday celebrating the victory of the Mexican Militia over the French Army. The school’s assistant principal ordered the students to remove the American flag clothing or turn it inside out, and eventually sent two students home. This found its way into a U.S. District Court. 

The court said, “Because the school officials were responsible for the safety of the Plantiffs on a day-to-day basis, the Court finds that they did not violate the First Amendment by asking Plantiffs to turn their shirts inside out to avoid physical harm.”

Bill Becker, an attorney for the students sent home, told the San Francisco Chronicle that, “The court found that the rights of students promoting their Mexican heritage trumped the rights of students expressing their patriotism.” 

Let’s look at one social institution that teaches heritage: the family unit. It is the primary social collective that has the most impact on one’s identity. Where do we learn patriotism? One might say it comes from our country competing in a global atmosphere. Another might say we learn it through family as well. 

Why are the issues of heritage and patriotism creating so much fear, and why did it get to a federal court intervening?

The answer is leadership—more specifically the administration of Live Oak and the parents of each student. If there was a known tension over expression and identity, Live Oak’s principle and the school’s PTA should have mandated a school uniform policy.

Sounds sad, but the goal of high school is to help students obtain a diploma and to move on to the next “playground.” The goal is not to allow tension among cultural groups involving youth who have not even fully developed. These students need guidance, both at school and at home. 

Wear the uniform, Live Oak! It would have dissolved the issue of what seems unpatriotic. There would still be tension due to youth not trying to understand each other, but at least they would all have to wear the same colors.

Last I heard, uniforms promote order and good conduct—the secondary schools that implement uniforms are usually private schools and schools that have social problems such as gang violence. This should be applied to Live Oak High School and would be the best solution to have a proven degree of success. 

What about the students wanting to express themselves? They had the privilege of doing things their way and failed due to the actions of a few. Yes, they may dread the idea of uniforms, but the alternative has already become a reality. 

There is not a popular consensus for wearing uniforms, but there are benefits: school recognition, easier policing of students, more time thinking of education rather than a fashion statement, and gang colors eliminated. It means fewer dollars out of the parents’ wallets, and did I mention it promotes community?

Interestingly enough, community is the place where we learn heritage and patriotism. In this case, the actions of those students go way past patriotism—to the point where it becomes hateful nationalism and a discredit upon their families. Do those students even understand the gist of this nation’s cornerstone, the U.S. Constitution? One individual’s patriotism is no longer true patriotism if it is represented with a malicious intent. Simply put, Jefferson is probably turning over in his grave as I write this.