Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Student told to take U.S. flag off bike

|
|
 
  
Cody Alicea rides his patriotic bike. 
Published: Nov. 11, 2010 at 6:49 PM

DENAIR, Calif., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Officials in a California school district said a middle school student was told to take a U.S. flag off his bike to avoid "racial tension."

Denair Unified School District Superintendent Edward Parraz said Cody Alicea, 13, was told not to fly the U.S. flag from his bike while at Denair Middle School after complaints from other students, KCRA-TV, Sacramento, Calif., reported.

"(The) First Amendment is important," Parraz said. "We want the kids to respect it, understand it, and with that comes a responsibility."

Parraz said racial tensions boiled over at the school this year around the Cinco de Mayo holiday.

"Our Hispanic, you know, kids will, you know, bring their Mexican flags and they'll display it, and then of course the kids would do the American flag situation, and it does cause kind of a racial tension which we don't really want," Parraz said. "We want them to appreciate the cultures."

Alicea's parents said he flies the flag from his bike as a tribute to veterans in his family.

"He's got that flag on his bike because he's proud of where he comes from," Alicea's father, Robert Kisner, said.

Alicea folds up the flag and keeps it in his backpack while attend class, the TV station said.

VIDEO: Boy told to remove American flag from bike

Recommended Stories
© 2010 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Protesters, police clash at NATO summit Notable deaths of 2012 2012 Billboard Music Awards
The 137th Preakness Stakes Annual Solar eclipse occurs in U.S. Chen Guangcheng arrives in the U.S.
Additional Odd News Stories
Your Daily Horoscope
The almanac
1 of 23
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visited in Washington
View Caption
Veterans etch the names of their friends inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War on May 26, 2012 in Washington, DC. More than 58,000 names of the servicemen who were killed or missing in the war are engraved on The Wall. UPI/Pat Benic
fark
The more an individual knows about science, the less likely they are to be believers in "global...
When you're 90 years old, you probably wish some nice young lady will come by your house so you...
The best cliff bound monasteries/zombie fortresses
Denver's solution for motorists who refuse to pull over for emergency vehicles: BASS
Never bring a pitchfork to a gunfight
Hi, I'm a stupid idiot. Please come rob me