Festus High School officials suspended an unnamed student for three days after he displayed a Trump sign at a pep rally Friday.
“I do not feel at all that this instance was an instance where anyone’s freedom to express was violated at all. Again, this is like I said earlier, there’s a proper place for anything,” District Superintendent Link Luttrell told the St. Louis Dispatch.
There is no school rule that strictly forbids holding political signs on campus, but Luttrell defended the Missouri high school officials for their actions based on a broad rule that forbids any items that are deemed “unnecessary and could distract from the current environment.”
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch also reported that the student refused to take the sign down, after repeated requests from school officials. “If there are items that are really unnecessary, they’re going to be asked that those be put away. You are violating rules about following simple commands,” Luttrell said.
Luttrell did not immediately return a request for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation regarding the types of offenses this broad rule normally applies to.
Students are also feeling the heat nationwide, especially in college. The DCNF’s report over the weekend found that Students for Trump is modifying its behavior out of concern for its members, opting not to openly wear pro-Trump t-shirts at the University of Virginia.
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