A N.H. high school student wore a ‘MAGA’ T-shirt for ‘America Day.’ She says she was told to cover it up.
“I thought for America Day it would be OK and there wouldn’t be an issue," Ciretta MacKenzie said.
For a celebration of American pride at Epping High School on Monday, freshman Ciretta MacKenzie pulled out her President Donald Trump “Make America Great Again” T-shirt.But the wardrobe choice reportedly resulted in a call to the principal’s office, where she says she was told to cover it up. Now, Superintendent Valerie McKenney has said the matter is under investigation in a community letter, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.Ciretta’s “never had an issue” wearing the shirt, she told NECN, noting that other students were wearing Trump gear, as well.“I thought for America Day it would be OK and there wouldn’t be an issue,” she said, according to the Union Leader.
School officials have launched an inquiry into why an Epping High School freshman was told she must remove or cover a ‘Make America Great Again’ t-shirt on a day students were encouraged to wear patriotic clothing.https://t.co/s7WyopYQrj pic.twitter.com/N7fUxBaQuK
— UnionLeader.com (@UnionLeader) April 11, 2019
While school principal Brian Ernest told Ciretta she wasn’t in trouble, he said she needed to find a different shirt, the newspaper reported. He told her that Trump is “controversial,” she said in the NECN interview.
“Whether you like it or not, he is still our president,” Ciretta MacKenzie told 7News.
Ciretta’s father, Jason MacKenzie, told the news station he didn’t like the idea of the school attempting to “isolate” his daughter “so other people don’t get offended.”
“It should’ve been the other way around,” he said. “If anyone gave her a hard time, you deal with them. Don’t remove her from the situation.”
Ciretta said she ended up wearing a friend’s sweatshirt over the T-shirt, according to the Union Leader. She believes Ernest’s actions were well intended, she told 7News.
“I truly do think he was just doing it just out of the best interests for me,” she said.
McKenney told the Union Leader that the issue is “sensitive” and needs “a thoughtful investigation and response.” In her community letter, she said she wants “to remedy this situation for all parties involved and ensure this type of situation never happens again in any Epping school.”
David Mylott, chairman of the district’s school board, said he couldn’t find any provisions in the district’s dress code that the shirt violated. He said he would bring the issue up during the April 18 school board meeting,” according to the Union Leader.
“I don’t think it was maliciously intended, but I think it sets a precedent that I don’t think we want to have,” Mylott told the paper.
The issue has also sparked a response from the ACLU of New Hampshire. Legal director Gilles Bissonnnette said in a statement that the organization is “deeply concerned” over what happened. The ACLU has filed a public record’s request to obtain “the district’s speech policies.”
“Unfortunately, schools have a long history of trying to censor this form of peaceful expression,” Bissonnette said in the statement. “Public schools should create an environment where the free exchange of ideas is fostered, not silenced.”
