Boy defied authority, school says
Disruptive behavior is issue, Hefner says
By Alisa Tang



BELLEVILLE, ILL -- A student who protested school rules banning the display of Confederate flags on autos in shop class was suspended because he defied authority, a school official said.

Jason Scott, a white senior at Belleville Township High School East, brandished a large Confederate flag next to the flag pole in the school courtyard Wednesday morning in protest of a new rule in his auto shop class. A day earlier, on Tuesday, students in the class were told they could not bring their cars to class if they had Confederate flags on them.

Jason is one of about five students in class who have adorned their cars with the flags.

Without disclosing Jason's name, Belleville District 201 Superintendent Leo Hefner said Thursday a student was suspended for eight days for defying school authority.

``A student was asked not to display the symbol here on campus where it could be seen by other students,'' Hefner said. ``The next day the student defied authority by bringing back a larger symbol.''

Hefner said he does not believe the eight-day suspension is too harsh.

``Everyone has the right to freedom of speech, but when that leads to behavior that's disruptive, that's a problem,'' he said.

Hefner said the student was not suspended just to make a point to other youths, and no additional discipline is planned. The maximum suspension is 10 days, and the school board must act on any expulsions, he said.

Meanwhile, students at East are confronted with a potentially divisive issue. Some say the school has long been plagued with race problems.

When Jason stood Wednesday with the large Confederate flag next to the flag pole in the school courtyard, one of his black classmates took a stand next to him.

Isaiah Sherrod, 17, climbed up the steps of the flag pole platform and put his fist in the air as a symbol of black power. Isaiah said he finds the flag offensive.

``I read in the paper how he said black people were standing up for him, but no one said that. I guess they thought I was supporting him, but I wasn't,'' Isaiah said.

Isaiah said there are a lot of racists at Belleville East. He made his own statement next to Jason to ``let them know that I'm not scared of them.''

Jason, 17, said he didn't know Isaiah had his hand up as a sign of black pride. He said his display of the flag was a matter of respect for heritage, not hate, as well as a statement about his right to free speech.

His poster board sign said ``Heritage not hate'' on one side and ``Perkins you are not above the First Amendment'' on the other. He was referring to Assistant Principal Bruce Perkins, who Jason said initially received the complaint about the Confederate flags on Jason's car.

Jason's sign seemed to cause some confusion among students about what the Confederate flag means and whether it is offensive.

``He was trying to say it's not for slavery,'' said Juren Ekwejunor, a black freshman who moved to the United States from Nigeria four years ago. ``It's not offensive to me ... if it's heritage, not hate.''

Carmenese Douglas, a black junior, said she perceived Jason's actions as racist and was angered by them.

``It was real ignorant,'' Carmenese said. ``Last December, they had a big racial fight, and by him doing that, he's stirring up a lot of stuff. This is just bringing up a lot of problems we just don't need.''

Bill Phillips, a white senior, said he believes students should be allowed to express their ideas at school, but not force them down other people's throats.

``A flag on your car is not crossing that line, but parading a flag across campus is too much,'' he said.

Jared Szoga, another white senior, said students should be allowed to have the Confederate flag on their cars in parking lots where few students hang out. He said the flag does not belong on school grounds because it will cause a lot of problems.

``The Confederate flag means racism, and there's a lot of black people on campus,'' Jared said.

Jason said Perkins had told him the Confederate flag represents slavery. But Jason said on Wednesday, ``If I thought it represented only slavery, I'd have nothing to do with it.''

Jason has always been interested in the Confederate flag, but his interest grew as he learned about the Civil War in a history class and when he started dating a girl who has relatives in the South.

As Jason drove around Belleville on Thursday, he said people honked and waved to him.

``I've been to different gas stations, and so far, everybody I've seen has congratulated me on what I've done and told me that they're on my side.''

Reporter Jaime Ingle contributed information to this story.






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Published Friday, September 7, 2001, in the Belleville News-Democrat