School battle rumors over removal of mascot, Confederate flag
Posted: Sep 16, 2010
By Keith Boles
HIGHLAND, AR (KAIT) – A flag flap in the town of Highland. Rumors have been flying about the school doing away with the confederate flag during sporting events.
Some said the mascot could get the boot. Rumor and misleading "Facebook" conversations?
One of the threads on Facebook is from the "Highland High School"
I sat down with Superintendent James Floyd and asked him about the schools Facebook page.
"We do not have a Highland High School Facebook Page. I think that’s just an individual’s Facebook page that’s just named Highland High School. They do not have permission to use that name."
"Highland" asks.."How would you feel if our flag gets taken away from us?"
Much Facebook chatter and talk around town leading to the point where people are convinced the flag is gone and the mascot is next.
Highland graduates like Billy Yates who used to carry the flag at football games; were understandably up in arms.
"I don’t understand why all of a sudden this has come up. It’s been here since 1966 when the Rebels name got established and they adopted the Confederate flag."
Floyd, "There’s been no discussion about doing that. The administration or the board since I’ve been here has not mentioned that at all."
Another rumor making the rounds is that the students were told supposedly that they couldn’t bring their rebel flags to the game last Friday night.
Floyd, "No there was an announcement made Friday by the assistant principal that simply asked the students to be respectful of the way they displayed the flag because we had some complaints about the way it was displayed at the previous game."
Perhaps wearing the flag as shorts like some pictures I saw in a trophy cabinet probably don’t show the proper respect.
So were the flags allowed into the game?
The SRO Mike Baldwin stood beside his new car with the Highland Rebel mascot on the hood.
"The kids were bringing the flags into the game Friday. I saw several of them coming through the ticket booth as normal."
Floyd, "We have no intention of changing the mascot nor the flag."
©2010 KAIT
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