If you attended kindergarten through 12th grade in the United States, you probably remember standing for the Pledge of Allegiance each morning. In New York state, it is a law that every public K-12 school must conduct the pledge at the start of each school day, but it’s optional for students to recite it.
I believe that New York has a fair law regarding the Pledge of Allegiance because it does not force students to participate. However, that does not mean I agree with a student who remains seated during the pledge.
In high school, one of my classmates didn’t want to stand for the pledge and kept their head down. My teacher called them out in front of the entire class for not standing up.
I understand my teacher’s frustration. Thirty seconds of a student’s morning can be dedicated to the pledge, and the student should have stood regardless of how they felt. To me, remaining seated is disrespectful to those who went to war and put their lives on the line to fight for our rights.
I have been shocked to hear other students say that they don’t respect our country enough to stand up for the pledge. This mindset takes for granted our land of the free and those who fought for it.
This sentiment is not exclusive to just the Pledge of Allegiance, but also the national anthem.
Parkway High School in Louisiana has recently threatened to remove student-athletes from their sports teams or limit their playing time if they fail to stand “in a respectful manner throughout the National Anthem,” as written by Principal Waylon Bates.
This has received backlash, and it’s clear why. It is within one’s First Amendment right to freely express what they believe. Although I believe that student-athletes and everyone else should be respectful to the national anthem, it was too extreme for the principal to impose such a rule.
Just last year, there was a peaceful protest against police brutality right here at Binghamton University. During a soccer game, over 250 students and faculty marched from the Clock Tower to the Bearcats Sports Complex dressed in all black and did not stand for the national anthem.
Despite anyone’s feelings on the matter, a student’s right to protest is protected by the 1969 Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines. The ruling was that schools cannot tamper with a student’s free speech and their right to protest, as long as it is not disruptive to the learning environment. Therefore, the First Amendment prevailed, and it continues to prevail, despite my personal beliefs on the issue.
This applies to a student’s right to not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance or the national anthem. It doesn’t cause harm to students around them, much like the protest here at BU. Therefore, although I may disagree with people not taking part in these national traditions, schools do not have a right to force students to stand up for the pledge.
While U.S. citizens are protected under their First Amendment rights, it’s important to recognize that this right would not be possible without our country in the first place. Americans today and in the past have gone to war and died for our rights; therefore, I believe the least we can do is stand for a few seconds, even if we are not obligated to do so.
Brad Calendrillo is a junior majoring in English.