A new controversy has risen out of the larger issue of proposed federal legislation that would crack down on illegal immigrants: the use of the Mexican flag as a symbol by those protesting the stricter laws. The Chronicle notes today a case at Reagan High School, where Principal Robert Pambello flew the Mexican flag along with the U.S. and Texas flags on the school's flagpole yesterday. Pambello was ordered to remove the Mexican flag because HISD said "it is not appropriate to permit use of school district flagpoles for the purpose of flying flags representing other countries."
The Mexican flag has shown up a lot this week in protests around the country and in walkouts by Houston-area students. And though historians say it's not unusual to find the Mexican and Texan flags being carried together, particularly during parades and demonstrations, some people say they think local students' using the Mexican flag is, at best, misguided.
"If they really want to show devotion, they should be carrying U.S. flags," [Carina Muriel, a junior at Channelview High School] said.Muriel said students at her school are walking out, wearing white shirts and carrying Mexican flags.
"More than half don't even know why they are doing it," she said. "It seems to me that they just want to be part of something big, but they don't know what it is. They've never before cared about politics, or what was going on with our government. The reason they care now is because it gives them a chance to cut class."
But Reagan High sophomore Lewis Ramirez made a different point: "Just because you're in the country doesn't mean you can't show your culture." Some Reagan students said they would try to raise a Mexican flag at the school today; they said they wanted it to fly "at least above the Texas flag on the pole," according to the Chron.
Meanwhile, local school districts are still thinking about how to strike a balance between encouraging students to get involved in issues and making sure they're learning in the classroom. Hundreds of students walked out of classes earlier this week to participate in local demonstrations or to join rallies at City Hall, and about 300 students in North Shore and Galena Park staged protests outside their schools yesterday. In Baytown, about 50 students skipped class to march yesterday, and in Alvin, around 200 students skipped morning classes for a march.
Alvin school officials said the students will be treated as truants and could face detention or being assigned to an altaernative school campus. In Houston, HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra promised more harsh punishments for students who miss class to protest: Students who skip school today could face a three-day suspension and may be expelled, a spokesman said.
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