TheQuartering [8/31/2023]
A Colorado school has been forced to let a student keep a Gadsden flag patch on his bag, after a teacher ordered him to remove it.
The 12-year-old boy, named Jaiden, and his mom refused to apologize after he wore the historic Gadsden flag patch to The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which one staffer claimed was ‘disruptive to the classroom environment’.
Now, the school has decided to U-turn on the decision to stop Jaiden from wearing the patch, with his defiance now making him popular amongst his peers.
In a video shared on Twitter, Jaiden said: ‘Today was a good day. The kids were really hyped up. They are putting ‘don’t tread on me’ on their locker. Now they like me all of sudden.
‘But the teachers on the other hand, I got some dirty looks that’s for sure. They are definitely not happy with me.’
The Gadsden flag was designed by South Carolina soldier Christopher Gadsden in the mid-1770s during the American Revolution.
Colonel Gadsden had seen a yellow banner with a hissing, coiled rattlesnake rising up in the center, and beneath the serpent the words: ‘Don’t Tread On Me’.
He made a copy and submitted the design to the Provincial Congress in South Carolina.
Commodore Esek Hopkins, commander of the new Continental fleet, carried a similar flag in early 1776 when his ships went to sea for the first time.
In a notice shared by Libertas President Connor Boyack, the School Board of Directors said: ‘The Vanguard School Board of Directors called an emergency meeting.
‘The Vanguard School recognizes the historical significance of the Gadsden flag and its place in history.