Confederate Flag on Truck Leads to Scottville School Suspension

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A Mason County Central High School junior has reportedly been banned from school grounds for the rest of the school year for flying a confederate flag in the back of the truck he takes to school.  On Friday afternoon, shortly after MCC schools had let out for the three day Memorial Day weekend, Travis Barrette related the following on his Facebook page:

Being that you cannot generally get a school administrative officer to respond to anything on their off-time, we have yet to hear their rationale and will gladly report that when they do.  Until then, the Ludington Torch has contacted the eighteen year old 'rebel' to find out more of the story, which he was more than willing to share. 

According to young Mr. Barrette, he had previously been warned about flying the flag in the back of his truck about a month and a half ago, because someone allegedly was offended and felt threatened by the red, white and blue piece of cloth which served as the battle flag for part of the confederate army during the American Civil War. 

Travis related he had heeded the warning, yet still wanted to fly it as often as possible, so he would take the flag down immediately after arriving to school, and then reattach it right before he would drive off school grounds.  It seemed a reasonable compromise between the school's need to keep smooth operation of their educational processes and his rights of free speech intact.  He did that for what looks to be the last time this school year on Friday morning after arriving with a friend to school.

This day, MCC High School Principal Brad Jacobs (pictured left) decided that policy was not good enough, and told the surprised junior that he could go home as this wasn't acceptable.  He punctuated this by threatening to call the local police to help enforce it, telling the young man that his school year was over and that he was banned.  After school, Travis parked off campus in order to pick up his younger brother.  He was not driving his vehicle on the grounds, so he was on the belief that his informal suspension would allow him to do this family responsibility. 

Apparently it wasn't.  According to Barrette, as he approached the school a local Scottville Police Officer asked him his name, and after he complied, informed Barrette that he was trespassing and needed to leave.  He was further informed that no trespassing papers would be sent to him in the mail.  As you can tell from his social media posting, he was astonished about the events.  Travis did notify another local news agency about the incidents, in the two days since, they asked him what grade he was in. 

In Ludington, there was a bit of controversy inspired by the confederate flag and a local stores ability to display and sell them during last year's summer months. in Yankee Transplant Attacks Local Store Over Confederate Flag  we took issue with the ultra-progressive stance of the City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews) and their radical interpretations of the flag. 

Here we find that a school administrator is alleged to have acted strongly in enforcement of a policy that ultimately needs to strike a balance between each student's rights and the school's duty to maintain order and a non-threatening environment.  Barring any extenuating circumstances that have yet been brought to the public's attention, this appears to be a case where the school over-reacted in their discipline and their decisions. 

It should first be noted that it was noted earlier this week that state legislators have been drafting laws in order to reduce the number of expulsions and lengthy suspensions school administrators are giving to students.  The idea is to keep students in school unless they present an obvious security or safety problem. 

Travis Barrette has relayed that he has had no other problems in school before this, and was flexible enough to adjust his behavior willingly.  His social media postings have no indication that he has any of the usual designations ascribed by the left of someone who flies confederate flags (other than perhaps a commonsense Christian conservative bend). 

Confederate flags of various armies fly in this southern military cemetery.  Are they flags of hate and racism?  Happy Memorial Day to everyone.

Legally speaking, school districts have relied on a lawsuit from the 1960s, Tinker v. Des Moines, for the legal precedent to be able to forbid flying Confederate flags.  In that decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that students don't lose their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech when they are on school property, but that school officials must be able to show that the students' conduct would "materially and substantially interfere" with the operation of the school.

That has allowed some schools to present students that take offense to the flag to the court to prove their point sufficiently.  The non-diverse student body of MCC and the mitigating actions taken by Barrette (not displaying the flag when his truck is parked on school grounds) makes this a more difficult task for the MCC school district.  They must articulate to the public/court reasons to believe that these flags are going to lead to fights, walkouts, sit-ins, or other physical events that disrupt the educational process at MCC. 

Travis Barrette hopes to get public awareness for his cause.  He is underway to organize a peaceful protest on behalf of the right to fly his confederate flag as he was and against the banishment.  We will faithfully update this article with any additional information we can receive from either party along the way, which includes submissions of FOIA requests to a school district that has always been reluctant to follow the law in that regard. 

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The COLDNews caught up to the story with an interview with the superintendent of MCC who took no part in the incident:  Confederate flag not welcome but student is, Mason County Central s...

SCOTTVILLE — A Mason County Central High School student’s Confederate flag has been banned from school property, said Superintendent Jeff Mount.

Mount said the flag, not the student, is banned from school property.

“We would like for him to come to school,” Mount said about the student. “If he keeps it on his truck he can park off campus.”

Mount said the student was told Friday that he would have to park the truck off campus if he kept the flag up.

“It’s banned because to many people it is a symbol of racism and slavery,” he said. “It has disrupted education before and all kids deserve a safe and orderly environment.”

The student, Travis Barrette, posted on the Ludington Daily News Facebook page stating he was banned from the MCC High School campus for the rest of the school year for flying a Confederate flag. “Everyone needs to grab their flags and peacefully rally,” he wrote. “They are fully and ready and willing to violate your rights amended by our founding fathers. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t follow the politcal correctness of your school, and being patriotic following our heritage.” (end of COLDNews story)

It's provoking a variety of responses on their Facebook page, while the story has gotten over 3000 views here during a usually sleepy holiday weekend.  Interesting is the difference in facts between this official quoting hearsay and Barrette.

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One half hour later (Rob Alway was slow in reading his press release from the superintendent), the MCP runs effectively the same story, with a little more editorial content showing an even higher contempt for the free speech issues involved (Student claims he was banned from MCC for displaying Confederate fl...).  The superintendent is in damage control mode:

SCOTTVILLE — Mason County Central student Travis Barrette says he was banned from the school after mounting a Confederate flag on the back of his pickup truck. Barrette posted on the MCP Facebook page Friday stating he cannot go onto school grounds because of the flag. Superintendent Jeff Mount said that’s not exactly true.

“Today I was banned from Mason County Central School campus, for the rest of the school year for flying an American Confederate Flag,” Barrett wrote. “I cannot walk on school ground etc. But yet im not expelled so how am i supposed to do my schooling. Please everyone share this to have everyone aware that they will kick you out of school for using your Constitutional rights! They are fully ready and willing to violate your rights amended by our founding fathers. I guess thats what happends when you dont follow the politcal correctness of your school, and being patriotic following our heritage.” (spelling errors left in quotes intentionally).

Superintendent Mount said that Barrette’s flag was causing a disruption on campus, however, the student was not banned from the school.

“He was not banned,” Mount told MCP. “His flag was banned as he was asked not to fly it on campus as it has caused a disruption in the past, and will likely cause more disruption to our safe and orderly environment we are responsible for maintaining. He disagreed and was told he could park off campus.”

Barrette posted his complaint on several Facebook pages and it has created quite a bit of conversation. The post was made on Friday at the beginning of Memorial Day weekend, when the United States pays tribute to the memory of armed services personnel who died protecting the U.S. (end of MCP story).

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I'm currently wording a couple of FOIAs to the school and Scottville Police to get closer to the truth.  Here's the latest from Barrette on Facebook commenting on the factuality of the superintendent's press release.  We welcome Travis and other eyewitnesses to what happened to express themselves here:

[Jasper]

Question?? If a "public school" is considered a public place which is funded by taxpayer's and a student does nothing more than drive a truck with a confederate flag attached to it how is it the "public" school can have anything to say about it??

If this was Wal-Mart an entirely different situation as they are privately owned. But a public school funded by tax dollars??

What happened to the 1'st Ammendment at MCC?

[Jasper]

School policies supersede the Bill of Right's and the United States Constitution?

So sick of reading how everyone is so offended! If any of these whining a$$ people are so easily offended then look the other way. You don't like the Confederate Flag don't look at it. Don't like abortion don't have one, and the list goes on and on!

[shinblind]

Travis Barrette the Flag Kid. 

Can't be too careful with this.

That's how these things start.

First the Confederate Flag

Next thing anarchist Barrette might show up with  a Trump 16 sticker on his bumper.

This could cause MCC High School Principal Brad Jacobs to have  a bad case of the vapors.

Close the Campus

Have the Crisis Intervention Center on speed dial Principal Jacobs.

Be in close contact with the MCSD, MSP, & SPD Swat teams.

Double check those classroom door boots.

You never know what tell what the FK  might happen.

 

[Jasper]

Shinblind...love your sense of humor.

Some of those a$$hats on LDN and MCP Facebook pages need a sense of humor along with an education related to yet another bunch of bs. After reading the responses on Facebook today. No surprise why the USA is at a low time low in education. School Administration more concerned about a flag on student's vehicle rather then actual serious problems that involve school operations such as heating, lack of books and supplies for teachers.

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You never know what you're going to get from a post by shinblind until you get to the end of the last line, but it will be an entertaining ride getting there.  Here he runs with some free verse escalations of intolerations ending with a fitting reference to our county's beloved school door securing device.  Bravo, shinblind, bravo.

[Brad]

I do believe that this flag, a pirate flag, or others should be no problem to be displayed.

But ...maybe a step should be taken back...

The school story may not be complete.

However, this person is a minor and with this, consider the source, it may not be as it seems.  NOT his complete story.

The cause may be worthy, but not necessarily the character.

[Jasper]

Now Rob Alway from MCP has a different spin to the story on MCP. Driving reckless from a report from the Scottville Police Department. So is it the friggin flag or driving reckless on school property? Just report the friggin' news. Here is a tip for ya Rob if you don't have all the facts before reporting do not speculate and rely on your Facebook follower's.

[stump]

So if he wasn't suspended from school, why did the police tell him to leave the school property and that he was trespassing? What I don't understand is where is the parents of this student? Why weren't they brought in for a talk with the principle about the possible problem. I just seems odd that a principle would say now that the flag was banned not the student when the police must have been told otherwise. I wonder if he had worn as confederate flag styled shirt or drove the GENERAL LEE DODGE CHARGER to school what would have happened?

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Don't you love it when official stories conflict?  The original press release earlier today Superintendent Mount assured us it was a confederate flag issue that prompted his high school principal to ban Barrette not anything about reckless driving is mentioned.  Earlier tonight MCP comes out with Scottville police receives complaints about confederate flag waving... referencing a Scottville Police Report I had requested early this afternoon and received the same day.  Here is the article as written:

SCOTTVILLE — Since the posting on social media by a Mason County Central student stating that he had been banned from Mason County Central Schools because he was flying a confederate flag from his truck, Scottville Police Department has received reckless driving complaints from residents about a truck matching that description.

See related story here.

School officials have stated that Travis Barrette, 18, was not banned from the school but rather his vehicle was banned from school property due to the disruption he was causing. Superintendent Jeff Mount said Barrette had been asked not to fly the confederate truck from the back of the truck because it had been causing a disruption on campus.

According to a Scottville Police Department report obtained by MCP, High School Principal Brad Jacobs informed Scottville Police Officer Katrina Skinner that Barrette’s vehicle was banned from the school property because of reckless driving.

“While patrolling the MCC High School parking lot, I… was informed by Mr. Jacobs that a red Chevy pickup driven by Barrette was not allowed on school property due to reckless driving,” Skinner stated in her May 27, 2016 report. “Mr. Jacobs asked if I saw Barrette to advise him that he will need to park off school property.”

Skinner then stated that at 2:50 p.m. she was on a traffic stop in the school parking lot when a male subject, identifying himself as Barrette, approached her. “He asked if it was illegal to fly his confederate flag. I said ‘no.'”

Skinner said she then informed Barrette that the Principal did not want him driving on school grounds and that he would need to park elsewhere, like on Broadway Street.

“Barrette said, ‘I go to school here. How am I suppose to go to school? Am I suspended?’ I told Barrette I did not know that information that he will need to contact Mr. Jacobs and ask him if he is suspended. Barrette stated he picks his brother up from school. I told Barrette if he continues to drive on school property Mr. Jacobs may have no trespass papers served.”

In a conversation with MCP, on Facebook, Barrette said he was told by a Scottville officer and Jacobs that he was banned from the school, which according to Skinner was not the case.

Skinner then added, on May 28, after Barrette had posted comments on Facebook that two residents had complained about the reckless driving of a red pickup truck with a confederate flag. Another person posted on MCP’s Facebook page that she had also witnessed a red truck with a confederate flag driving recklessly on US 10. (end of story)

The police report is attached here, you will note that even though the incident happened on the 27th, and two citizen complaints of the 28th are referenced, that the narrative (supplement 1) is the full report and not created until today.  It isn't all that believable:  Principal Brad Jacobs did not make any formal complaint of reckless driving to the SPD ever, according to what wasn't sent to me by the SPD.  It only became an issue on May 28th.  Furthermore, Jacobs has no authority I can find that allows him to prevent a student from driving his vehicle on school property because he feels that he is driving recklessly-- which isn't among the reasons the superintendent listed earlier.  What a clusterflunk!