Patriotism Gets Red Wing Students Suspended

A display of “patriotism” has led to the suspension of students at Red Wing High School in Minnesota, and one teen believes his suspension should be overturned.

Bryce Reps, 17, wasn’t the only Red Wing student whose display of patriotism earned him a suspension, but his was the most severe. While Reps gets five days in the penalty box, others received two-day timeouts for using chalk and small American flags to “decorate” the campus — without permission.

Reps explains that Red Wing High School’s administration did not take kindly to the planting of more than 150 American flags around the school’s grounds — nor did they appreciate the use of chalk to write “God bless America” and “never forget 9/11” on windows. The graffiti was erasable, but some minor damage was sustained.

The teen is livid that he has been punished for such a long period over the patriotic vandalism, and he complains:

“My suspension is more severe than for someone who shows up to school drunk or has drugs on them.”

According to Reps, not only does the suspension put him at an academic disadvantage, but it also risks a $15,000 scholarship he may receive — he says:

“I talked to a captain in the Air Force and that’ll make a big, big difference… There was never any intent to permanently damage anything. It was a prank. We just wanted to decorate the school to prove that we’re patriotic.”

Red Wing Schools District Superintendent Karsten Anderson says the school is reviewing the suspensions, and tells press:

“The high school administration is going to review the overall incident and to make sure we’ve done the right thing.”

Reps believes that the incident should be forgiven, and said:

“I really do love my country… We’re all straight A’s, National Honor Society students, not a group of bad kids making a bad decision.”

While the patriotism suspensions are the result of good intentions according to the students, the incident was not without some lasting effect. The district explains that some doors were permanently damaged by the display of patriotic graffiti, and the $2,000 cost of their replacement has been passed on to the parents of students involved in the kerfuffle.