ACLU defends student who hung Confederate flag
The American Civil Liberties Union is defending a New Jersey student who was suspended for hanging a Confederate battle flag on his car in the school’s parking lot.
Gregory Vied was suspended from Steinert High School after refusing to remove the flag. After a series of complaints, the school’s principal repeatedly asked Vied to take down the flag, but he says it’s his right the hang it if he wants.
After receiving the suspension, Vied approached the American Civil Liberties Union about his case, according to The Times of Trenton. The ACLU subsequently sent a letter to the school, emphasizing Vied’s right to freedom of expression and asking the school for “immediate assurances that neither Greg nor any other student will be disciplined for displaying a Confederate flag.”
“Students have a right to speech or expression unless the administration can demonstrate that the prohibited speech would ‘materially and substantially’ disrupt the operation of the school or interfere with another’s rights,” Ed Barocas, legal director for New Jersey’s ACLU wrote to the school.
More students have started displaying similar flags in their vehicles in support of Vied.
Thoughts on this?
Sound off below!