My name is Assad Bari. I am a rising senior at the high school. Throughout the school year, I have seen multiple people wear shirts that depict the confederate flag. They wore these shirts multiple times in the past year with no dilemma. Citing page 44 of the Learner Handbook 2019-2020, it states, "Emblem that depicts or can be construed as discriminatory against any religious, ethnic, racial, or cultural group, due to the potential to disrupt the school day, is prohibited." The confederate flag breaks this part of the dress code as the emblem depicted represents discrimination against black people. The flag is a racially inflammatory symbol, which is undeniably rooted in slavery and racism. Moreover, although the student body has the right of freedom of speech, courts have dictated the flag can be removed due to it inciting discrimination. In 2000 in West v. Derby Unified School District, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Kansas school district’s suspension of a student for drawing a Confederate flag on a piece of paper during math class. Because the school had acted under the auspices of a well-defined policy designed to prohibit racial harassment and to minimize disruption of the educational environment for other students, the court found that the policy did not limit protected speech. In order for the State in the person of school officials to justify prohibition of a particular expression of opinion, it must be able to show that its action was caused by something more than a mere desire to avoid the discomfort and unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular viewpoint. The confederate flag is blatantly a racist flag. Thus, the symbol incites discomfort and unpleasantness. It would be just if in the dress code policy, a specification is made to ban the confederate flag from our school. Moreover, the actual flag flying on cars should be banned as well. I hope you consider my position and the reasoning behind it. Please share this petition with friends and family to eradicate this racist flag.