ST. LEON, INDIANA - The American Flag in all her glory blows in the wind wherever Cameron Blasek goes.
Making sure to abide by the U.S. flag code, the 17-year-old senior at East Central High School in St. Leon, Indiana attached Old Glory to his dodge 4x4 and has driven it everywhere, including to school, everyday since early summer.
“The flag itself represents this country, this beautiful country that we live in. It also represents the people who fought their lives for it. And I think that’s a really hard thing to talk about, but I think it’s a big thing,” Blasek commented.
Despite Blasek’s deep respect for the flag, his high school had a delayed surprise in store.
WCPO9 reported that the senior said that “he was pulled aside by his counselor and vice principle on Thursday March 7." Blasek says that he was told to remove the flag from his truck due to it violating school rules. School officials reportedly told Blasek that it could open the door for other students to fly flags “that are seen as offensive.”
“Honestly, I was shocked. I read through the 2023-2024 Handbook, and the word ‘flag’ wasn’t even mentioned in the parking lot or driving section. The only section it’s mentioned in is the flag-twirling section,” Blasek said.
The 17-year-old held his ground. He did not remove the flag from his truck, and the next day around two dozen students arrived with flags on their vehicles in a strong show of support. Blasek commented, “I was kind of shocked by that.”
Parents received a note on Friday from Principal Tom Black. The note was to “offer clarification” and “address recent concerns and confusions.” Principal Black’s letter said in part, “I am pleased to inform you that we are allowing the display of the U.S. flag by students in the parking lot.”
Blasek’s father Christopher took to social media to talk about the incident and the popular Libs of Tiktok page shared the story with their input:
“SCOOP: A student at @EastCentralHS in Indiana drove to school with an American flag on the back of his truck. The school reportedly responded by threatening to punish him if he didn’t remove it.”
The post goes on to say, “the school caved, allowing students to fly flags on their vehicles but said they won’t allow students to fly American flags next school year. Why do American schools hate America?”
The Libs of Tiktok post has taken Blasek’s story viral, with 6.9 million views as of the writing of this article.
An email to WCPO9 further clarified the school’s stance. Principal Black wrote, “no high school staff member or administrators stated or insinuated that the U.S. Flag was offense, nor has there ever been a complaint received about the U.S. Flag.”
Black goes on, “The U.S. Flag is displayed in the front of our school and in every classroom. We begin each day with the Pledge of Allegiance. Clearly we do not consider the U.S. Flag offensive. Friday morning, after consulting with other administrators, we determined that we would allow the U.S. Flag to be displayed, and would prohibit other flags if they were determined to be offensive.”
He added that there are no plans to “change our handbook.”
“I think everybody gets offended over something, That it doesn’t mean what everybody says it does. This flag represents our country and the people who died for it and fought for it. And I respect that with my whole heart,” Cameron Blasek said.
Making sure to abide by the U.S. flag code, the 17-year-old senior at East Central High School in St. Leon, Indiana attached Old Glory to his dodge 4x4 and has driven it everywhere, including to school, everyday since early summer.
“The flag itself represents this country, this beautiful country that we live in. It also represents the people who fought their lives for it. And I think that’s a really hard thing to talk about, but I think it’s a big thing,” Blasek commented.
Despite Blasek’s deep respect for the flag, his high school had a delayed surprise in store.
WCPO9 reported that the senior said that “he was pulled aside by his counselor and vice principle on Thursday March 7." Blasek says that he was told to remove the flag from his truck due to it violating school rules. School officials reportedly told Blasek that it could open the door for other students to fly flags “that are seen as offensive.”
“Honestly, I was shocked. I read through the 2023-2024 Handbook, and the word ‘flag’ wasn’t even mentioned in the parking lot or driving section. The only section it’s mentioned in is the flag-twirling section,” Blasek said.
The 17-year-old held his ground. He did not remove the flag from his truck, and the next day around two dozen students arrived with flags on their vehicles in a strong show of support. Blasek commented, “I was kind of shocked by that.”
Parents received a note on Friday from Principal Tom Black. The note was to “offer clarification” and “address recent concerns and confusions.” Principal Black’s letter said in part, “I am pleased to inform you that we are allowing the display of the U.S. flag by students in the parking lot.”
Blasek’s father Christopher took to social media to talk about the incident and the popular Libs of Tiktok page shared the story with their input:
“SCOOP: A student at @EastCentralHS in Indiana drove to school with an American flag on the back of his truck. The school reportedly responded by threatening to punish him if he didn’t remove it.”
The post goes on to say, “the school caved, allowing students to fly flags on their vehicles but said they won’t allow students to fly American flags next school year. Why do American schools hate America?”
The Libs of Tiktok post has taken Blasek’s story viral, with 6.9 million views as of the writing of this article.
An email to WCPO9 further clarified the school’s stance. Principal Black wrote, “no high school staff member or administrators stated or insinuated that the U.S. Flag was offense, nor has there ever been a complaint received about the U.S. Flag.”
Black goes on, “The U.S. Flag is displayed in the front of our school and in every classroom. We begin each day with the Pledge of Allegiance. Clearly we do not consider the U.S. Flag offensive. Friday morning, after consulting with other administrators, we determined that we would allow the U.S. Flag to be displayed, and would prohibit other flags if they were determined to be offensive.”
He added that there are no plans to “change our handbook.”
“I think everybody gets offended over something, That it doesn’t mean what everybody says it does. This flag represents our country and the people who died for it and fought for it. And I respect that with my whole heart,” Cameron Blasek said.
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Comments
2024-03-13T20:45-0400 | Comment by: Delmar
Thank you, Cameron for standing your ground. Even though I did Not serve in Any war, I did serve in the US Army for 46 months (Mostly in Germany) during the Vietnam war. Any support for the US FLAG is always appreciated, especially when under possible durress. Thanks and God Bless you as well as you many supporters at your school. My family is from Southwestern Indiana city of Huntingburg - Go Raiders!
2024-03-13T21:04-0400 | Comment by: Marshall
Stink in’, progressive, anti American swine are every where.
2024-03-13T22:47-0400 | Comment by: EDWARD
Seems odd that other countries and sexes can display their flag under anti-discrimination logic, but the U.S. can't display its own flag for being racist or hurting someone else's feelings??? Thank you for standing firm on this and providing an example of what proud Americans should do.
2024-03-14T05:32-0400 | Comment by: Patricia
God bless you Cameron. Keep OLD GLORY flying.