For some, the Confederate flag represents pride and heritage. For others, it is a symbol of hate and years of oppression. In the wake of the Charlottesville attacks earlier this summer, the Confederate flag has become even more prominent as a flag of hate and, therefore, has no place in the public school system.

According to the centerforpubliceducation.org, schools must “weigh and balance two forceful ideas that occasionally clash: the need for a safe, orderly school environment conducive to learning, [and] the guaranteed American entitlement to speak or engage in expressive activity.”

Freedom of speech laws can become extremely convoluted in this argument, including one in particular: Tinker v. Des Moines (1969).  This case ruled that students have the freedom of speech in schools, except when it causes a disruption to learning, or infringes on the rights of other students, such as safety.

Now consider the Confederate flag. It represents a fight during the Civil war to retain states’ rights to keep slavery intact. Shirts that spout “the South will rise again,” and are decorated in Confederate flags are quite offensive and divisive considering what the South fought for, to leave the Union and preserve a way of life that depended on slaves. But the South lost and slavery was abolished, so why are shirts with the Confederate flag allowed?

Senior John Michael Gregg spoke with administration last year about banning the Confederate flag from school. The Dixie flag is irrelevant, but now is used as a form of bullying and intimidation, like a gang sign.

“Racism is an already prominent problem in society, the bigoted symbol that is the Confederate flag has no place in our institutions.” said Gregg. “The fact that our administration has failed to condemn and prevent the presence of this symbol in our school is outrageous and cowardly. The administration has taken action against bullying and I challenge them to add the eradication of this symbol as part of this pursuit.”

The Confederate flag is simply not appropriate in schools. It infringes on students’ right to a safe learning environment. This hate symbol represents the oppression and enslavement of African Americans. It is not erasing history to remove this flag, history classes still teach about the horror of slavery. The Dixie flag is a vestige of the Civil war and it is time that people let it go.

Christiansburg High School has banned Confederate flag clothing for about 13 years, and in 2015, also banned Confederate flags hanging on vehicles. The school cited racial tensions caused by the display of the flag as their reason for removing it from school property. Staunton River High School also banned Confederate flags on vehicles in 2016. Montgomery County Schools enacted a new dress code in 2016 that banned symbols of racism or hate, such as Klu Klux Klan symbols and the Confederate flag, from school attire. Rockbridge needs to follow suit and alter the dress code to make Confederate flag clothing prohibited.

Schools are not stopping students from wearing what they prefer in their personal time off of school campus. It is the responsibility of all schools to ensure that all students have a fair and safe learning environment. It is hard to do that when classmates are wearing clothing that represents years of hatred and oppression towards African Americans. A student should not have to question if their peer is trying to recreate the history of the civil war.

Yet I do not believe that banning the Confederate flag will solve race issues in Rockbridge. The Confederate flag is simply a manifestation of deeper race issue in our community and banning the flag does nothing to address these problems. Students use racial slurs and make insensitive comments both in school and on social media. These racial issues stem from years of prejudice and oppression towards African Americans. Local middle school Lylburn Downing was segregated until 1965 when Lexington Schools integrated. Rockbridge needs to take the time to have the hard conversations with students and teachers both, to educate and inform about past and present issues. Our history is no where near perfect and we should take the time to acknowledge that. But Rockbridge as a community needs to take action towards improving racial issues.

Sociology is a class in which students are able to discuss race relations and examine where racial issues stem from. Lifelong prejudices are passed onto children and remnants of Civil War era sentiments remain. Supporters of the Dixie flag defend it as a symbol of heritage, and it is about heritage. One we should learn from and change ourselves to refrain from repeating mistakes of the past. Discussions such as these need to expand to other classes and to all students. The Confederate flag represents racial issues at our school and should not be allowed any longer. If a girl’s shoulders can be considered distracting enough that she be threatened with in school suspension, then certainly a symbol of hate and racism should not continue to be allowed in school.

For an alternative view to this issue, check out Colby Ervine’s article “Bans do not solve conflicts.”