Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore, Wikipedia
Freshman student Ciretta Mackenzie at Epping High School in Epping, New Hampshire, was forced to remove her MAGA attire because it goes against the school’s dress code.
She said she felt ashamed and embarrassed that the principal asked her to remove her attire. She felt she wasn’t violating any rules or being disrespectful in anyway because all the attire said was “Make America Great Again” and not “Build A Wall.”
She was forced to change into her friend’s sweatshirt and take her hat off. This all occurred on American Pride Day, which is a little ironic, considering it has to do with the president of the United States.
The teenager did not understand why they were doing this because she felt like she was not causing any harm when it came to her outfit choice. She wanted to wear this in particular because of her love for President Trump, and felt like she was being targeted because of her open love for him.
“It’s just a shirt, and it only says 'Trump: Make America Great Again.' It doesn’t say anything like 'build a wall,' so I don’t get how it could be offensive, how it could be disrespectful,” Mackenzie told Fox News.
“If it said no political gear, I could understand why it was dress code, but it didn’t say that, so I feel like I’m obligated to have my own opinion and other people can have theirs. We don’t have to agree, that fine.”
Mackenzie made it very clear that she was not intentionally trying to bother anyone with her outfit choice or cause any controversy, but rather, she wanted to express her opinion about the president just like everyone else. Superintendent Valerie McKenney said the incident was under investigation.
When it comes to whether schools have the right to do this or not, I believe they do not because this is an invasion of your First Amendment rights.
If someone would like to wear something that expresses how they feel about a certain person, it should be allowed because that is your American right to do so.
If someone were to be wearing something that is targeted towards a certain race, religion or sexuality, then it should not be allowed because that is discrimination and not freedom of speech.
There is a huge difference in the types of attire that should be allowed and shouldn’t. If the school does not want to allow this, they must decide if they do not want anything political in their school at all or if they’ll allow it completely. You cannot pick and choose what you want to be allowed in your school.
tanzalon@ramapo.edu
