CLINT STRAATMAN, PATRIOT

Froylan Camelo, a student at Minico High School in Rupert, Idaho, has been contacted by the ACLU (American Communist Liberties Union) about filing a law suit against Clint Straatman, a physical education teacher. What did Straatman do to Camelo that raised the ire of the ACLU? He took away the Mexican flag Camelo was waving and put it in a garbage can.

Camelo and a number of other students of Mexican descent had brought Mexican flags to the school in clebration of Stinko, oops, I meant Cinco De Mayo. According to Camelo, he was changing into gym clothes when Straatman approached him and said, "Give me the flag." Camelo said he asked, "What's the problem?" and that Straatman replied, "The problem is that we are in the United States and not in Mexico." Camelo claimed that Straatman grabbed the flag from him and threw it in a garbage can.

Because he had been told the flag would be returned later, Camelo claimed that when he later asked, "Where is my flag?" Straatman replied, "What, the U.S. flag?" Camelo said he told Straatman, "No, the one for Mexico." When Straatman did not give him the flag, Camelo retrieved it from the garbage can himself.

Straatman gave a somewhat different version of the events, saying that Camelo was waving the Mexican flag in the gym and he confiscated it because he was afraid that Camelo's act would lead to trouble between Mexican and Anglo students. Straatman claims that he may have been misunderstood because of Camelo's poor English speaking skills.

About a third of the Minico student body is Hispanic. The Superintendent of the Minidoka County Joint School District is now investigating the Stinko De Mayo incident. He stated that, "We believe in nondiscriminatory practices and cultural diversity. ........ If there is a teacher making derogatory comments we don't approve of that. We also don't approve of a student disrupting the classroom."

Derogatory comments? There is certainly nothing derogatory in telling a student, "....... we are in the United States and not in Mexico." Nor is it derogatory, when asked where the student's flag was, to respond, "What, the U.S. flag?" The only thing derogatory in this incident was that Hispanic students brought Mexican flags to the school and waved them in the faces of their Anglo classmates.

In my opinion, Clint Straatman is a patriot! He should be commended, not condemned, for taking the Mexican flag away from Camelo. Unfortunately, it looks like the ACLU is going to file a law suit against Straatman. Instead of investigating the actions of this patriot, the Superintendent should investigate the school's Principal for allowing Mexican flags on campus.