Rejected yearbook photo of teen wearing US flag sparks dispute at Washington school

A high school senior’s photo of her wrapped in the U.S. flag was rejected by the school’s yearbook, sparking backlash for her and the school in Spokane, Washington.

Sierra Athos, 17, who is a senior at Lewis and Clark High School, posted the photo on Facebook Monday, along with a screenshot of an email from “LC Year Book,” saying it would not accept the photo due to a “senior picture policy” that states the “photo should be of you and only you. No family, friends, pets, watermark or props. Photos with those items will not be accepted,” the screenshot shows.

“If you could please submit a picture that does not contain props (flag in this case),” the sender wrote, according to the screenshot.

Athos emailed back, according to the screenshot, saying: “I seriously can’t have the American flag in my picture?”

Her Facebook post included a paragraph where she expressed her bewilderment.

“The fact that I can’t have my senior picture in the yearbook because it contains the American flag in it amazes me,” Athos wrote. “Are you kidding me right now?”

Athos told KXLY that she “believes the school is violating her freedom of speech.”

“I love the flag so I just wanted to represent that in the yearbook,” said Athos, according to KXLY. “I think they are trying to bring politics into it which I don’t know why loving your country is political but I guess that’s what it is these days.”

‘She loves our country!’

Kyle Simchuk, the reporter who authored the KXLY story, made a post about the photo on his Facebook page, which got 160 shares. Many people offering opinions in the comments expressed support for Athos’s patriotism.

“She’s showing a patriotic love for her country!!” one person wrote. “She’s showing she loves our country!”

“Nothing wrong with a teen wanting to show her patriotism for her country,” another commented. “Senior photo. That’s it. To say anything else you are NOT American.”

“This makes me very sad for our City of Spokane, [e]ducation [s]ystem and [c]ountry. This is the symbol of our freedom [and] nation,” another commenter posted.

One commenter pointed out that “it does expressly violate the U.S. flag code and this is considered just as bad as burning the flag or stomping on it.”

‘Respect for flag’ the real reason

That’s the actual reason the school denied her photo, Principal Marybeth Smith wrote in a statement posted on the school’s Facebook page.

“Quick point of clarification regarding senior pix [sic]. We do not and have not banned the American flag from inclusion in photos,” Smith said. “In the past we have celebrated students who have enlisted in the military by using senior photos highlighting their branch of service — student in uniform and US flag displayed behind them … We have rejected a photo this year in which our American flag was displayed in a way not sanctioned by Title Four, US Code, Chapter One.”

Section 8 of Title 4, titled “Respect for flag” states that “the flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery.” It also holds that “the flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.”

“We respect the flag as much as any school in the area and were concerned that in the photo submitted it was being used as a prop in the photo and was not being afforded appropriate regard,” Smith wrote in the statement.

Student apologizes, seeks solution

On Tuesday, Athos posted on Facebook that she was “sorry for using the flag as ‘clothing or apparel’ and ‘draping it over me’ because that goes against certain guidelines.”

“I am in no way looking for ‘an [exception] just for me’ from the school, but rather the rules be enforced equally and fairly,” Athos told McClatchy News in a message. “I hope this has brought consideration to the school to revise the rule with a possibility being that the new rule is no props involving weapons or [lewd] things allowed rather no props period!”

A spokesperson for the Spokane Public School District told McClatchy News in a phone interview that the school is working with Athos and her family “to find a solution” to the issue.

The principal was expected to meet with the family Wednesday to discuss the issue, Sandra Jarrard, director of communications for the district, said in an email.

This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 3:28 PM.