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The ADVANCE, September 22, 2021 /Page 2A
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Photo by Makaylee Randolph
PATRIOTIC STANCE — Junior Elkhatib holds up a poster of a U.S, Marine while he empha
sizes the symbolism of fhe American flag and expresses his objections to a dress code
that prohibits students from wearing clothing that exhibits the flag,
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continued from page 1A
the matter through a pub
lic statement, which said:
“The Vidalia City School
System in no way discrimi
nates against the Ameri
can flag or the patriotism
and freedoms that it rep
resents.” The statement
continued, “However, we
are tasked with fostering
and providing a safe envi
ronment of learning that
is inclusive to all students,
regardless of their political
or religious beliefs, and be
lieve that we allow students
the opportunity to do that
within the prescribed pa
rameters of our dress code.”
The recent monthly
board meeting was the first
opportunity individuals
concerned with the issue
had to address the Board.
J.R. Trippe student Trace
Tippett, and parents Kelly
Tippett, Sarah Elkhatib,
and Junior Elkhatib, ex
pressed their thoughts to
the Board during a portion
of the meeting reserved for
public participation,
Kelly Tippett yielded
a portion of her time to
her son. “I want to turn
my time over to my son for
however long he would like
to take,” Tippett shared.
“He’s the reason I am here
tonight.”
Trace Tippett ex
plained that he had been
one of the students who
was reprimanded about
wearing the American flag
on his clothing, which he
said he was told violated
the system’s dress code.
“They [the administration
of the middle school] tried
to compare it to how if they
let the American flag be
worn, they would have to
let other flags be worn,” he
stated. “That is not the case
because every other flag
does not fly over the front
of the school or in every
classroom of the school,
and we do not pledge to ev
ery other flag every morn
ing.”
He continued to share
what the American flag
stood for, and how it both
ered him that the other
schools in the District did
not seem to have a problem
with the flag being worn
like the middle school
does. “I find it ironic how
it is fine that we can wear
Vidalia gear because we are
in Vidalia City Schools, but
we cannot wear the Ameri
can flag when we are in the
United States of America,”
he noted.
Tippett yielded his
remaining time back to
his mother, who shared
that this was truly the
first time she had ever re
ally struggled with the Dis
trict regarding an issue. “I
have had four children go
through this school system,
and you all have never seen
my face here before with
an issue,” she said, add
ing, “That’s because I have
never had an issue with the
dress code until this year.
To make exceptions in the
dress code, but to not in
clude the American flag in
that, is what makes it differ
ent than all the other dress
codes that you have had.”
She continued to voice
her disapproval of the situ
ation as she shared that
the middle school admin
istration did not seem to
acknowledge the differ
ence in a normal logo and
the American Flag. “I was
told we could not make an
exception for the flag be
cause it was an image, just
like any other image,” she
said. “It is not an image like
any other image - it is the
emblem of our nation. It is
what family - Trace’s fam
ily, my family - for genera
tions have sacrificed for.”
Tippett continued to
use the remainder of her
time to vocalize her frus
tration with the school ad
ministration choosing how
to interpret the regulations
put in place by the District.
“Evidently, each school
within the school system is
interpreting things differ
ently. I do not understand
how, first, the American
flag does not fit in to the
dress code and second,
how it can be allowed at
other schools within the
District but not the middle
school,” she said.
Tippett concluded,
“As a taxpayer, as a city
resident, as a citizen of this
nation, I feel it is unaccept
able to make allowances
to the dress code which is
excluding the very emblem
of the nation that so many
have sacrificed for. And
that is the thing - if any
thing is left in this country
that unites us all, the flag
should be it. We just want
the American flag to be al
lowed with corporate logos
and collegiate gear on our
children’s clothing.”
Sarah Elkhatib empha
sized, “The American Flag
is not political,” she stated.
“We’re not asking them to
wear a Democrat thing, a
Republican thing, a BLM
flag, a gay pride flag - any of
that. It is the American flag.
We may not all be black, we
may not all be gay, but last
time I checked, we are all
Americans.”
Elkhatib explained
how the school commu
nity teaches students to
have pride in the school
system and the college
they want to attend to; but
by denying them the abil
ity to wear the American
flag, this community is also
teaching students to refrain
from having pride for their
nation.
Elkhatib argued that
this lack of pride in the na
tion is wrong because that
is the one characteristic
in student lives that will
never change. “They may
move, they may not live
here anymore, they may
change what college they
want to go to, but the one
thing they are never going
to change is that they are
American,” she said. “That
is the most important thing
for our kids to have pride
in.
She continued to re
iterate the lack of unifor
mity within the dress code,
stating she was told some
thing different than Tip
pett regarding the logos
that could be worn. “They
said it had to have the com
pany name with the logo,”
Elkhatib informed the
Board. She and her hus
band, Junior, showed both
the Board and the audience
the Chaps Ralph Lauren
sweatshirt, which their son
was reprimanded for wear
ing. “Once a public state
ment was made (concern
ing the reprimands), our
children were targeted,”
she explained. “My son was
made to change his shirt
because the American flag
was part of the Chaps logo.”
Elkhatib concluded
before yielding her remain
ing time to her husband,
“That incident made it
very clear to me this was
not about the logo - it was
about attacking the Ameri
can flag - and it is wrong.”
Junior Elkhatib began
his segment of the public
participation by recogniz
ing the veterans in the au
dience, including Kevin
Brockway, a two-time im
age for a United States
Marines recruiting poster
and 18-year veteran of the
Marine Corps. Brockway
does not have a student
in the middle school, but
does have a student in high
school, and reportedly at
tended the meeting in
support of the individuals
standing up for the Ameri
can flag.
Elkhatib shared his
disgust for the situation: “It
is sad that I have to tell my
friends who have served
for our country that my
kid had to change his shirt
because it had a little bitty
American Flag on it,” he
said.
He explained to the
Board that he spent most of
his life overseas; “I am half
Lebanese, and I am here
fighting for the American
flag,” he remarked. Elkhat
ib argued the school had
further disgraced the flag
by not only not allowing
it to be worn in the school,
but also by taking the out
door flag down prior to the
conclusion of school hours.
“Everywhere around
the world, individuals hold
Please see VCS page 12A
tvseTeadkable MorvteKfc
What is the reason for Constitution Week?
Constitution Week, the commem
oration of America’s most important
document, is celebrated annually in
the United States during the week of
September 17-23. The week begins
with Constitution Day, Septem
ber 17, and honors the thirty- * *
nine brave men who envi
sioned and produced the
U.S. Constitution and who
signed it on September 17,
1787, eleven years after the
signing of the Declaration
of Independence in 1776.
The United States Constitu
tion is a testament to the tenacity
of Americans throughout history to
maintain their liberties, freedoms and
inalienable rights.
The Daughters of the American
Revolution (DAR) saw the need to
remind citizens that the Constitution
is the basis for America’s laws and
the foundation for our way of life, to
encourage Americans to study their
great history, and to inspire them to
embrace their responsibilities for
protecting and defending the Con
stitution. So in 1955, the DAR peti
tioned Congress to set aside Septem
ber 17-23 each year as Constitution
Week. The resolution was adopted
by the U.S. Congress and signed
* . into public law on August
2, 1956, by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower,
but it wasn’t until Sep
tember 2002 that Pres
ident George W. Bush
declared that Constitu
tion Week would be of
ficially celebrated every
year.
Every year members of
the DAR observe Constitution Week
by ringing bells on Constitution Day
(September 17); obtaining proclama
tions from public officials; creating
displays in schools, libraries, court
houses, and other public areas; dis
tributing copies of the Constitution,
Preamble to the Constitution, and
other patriotic literature; and other
efforts to educate their community
about the Constitution.
.d
*1
Schools Issue COVID Reports
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvanceiSgmail.com
On Friday, September
17, Vidalia City Schools
reported only 10 positive
COVID cases within the
school system; of these
cases, 9 were students and 1
was a staff member. This ac
counts for 0.36% of the stu
dent population and 0.3%
of the staff population.
On the same day,
Toombs County Schools
posted online that 17 stu
dents and 4 staff were ab
sent because of testing
positive for COVID. Both
of these numbers represent
less than 1% of student and
staff population throughout
the district.
Wheeler County re
ported 4 students and no
staff were COVID-positive
on Friday. Only 28 students
are currently quarantined;
15 of these students began
their quarantine last week.
No staff members are quar
antined.
Vidalia Heritage Acad
emy has no on-going cases
of COVID within its staff
or student population, and
no one is currently quaran
tined.
On Monday, Mont
gomery County students
returned to face-to-face
classes after a two-week
virtual learning break due
to an upswing in COVID
cases. The administration
reports that minimal staff
members remain absent be
cause of testing positive for
COVID. The school contin
ues to deep clean its cam
puses every other Saturday
to help slow the spread of
the virus.
