I wrote this in Human Events on September 2:
A Muslim girl sits for Pledge of Allegiance. A non-Muslim girl asks her why she doesn’t act proud to be an American. Guess who got suspended.
It happened last week in Spring Hill, Florida: Heather Lawrence, a 16-year-old girl who plans to join the U.S. Army, was suspended for five days for insulting her hijab-wearing, seated classmate who refused to stand for the Pledge. This angered Heather, she said, since “our flag represents everything that our country is….You know, I made a not-so-kind remark, and I do sincerely apologize for referring to the thing on her head because that had nothing to do with it. But I told her, ‘Why don’t she act like she’s proud to be an American?'”
I also wrote about this incident here. But then school officials said Heather Lawrence was lying and could not have seen the Muslim girl sitting for the pledge, as they were not even in the same room during the Pledge. So I noted that in an update to that same post, and that was that.
Except it wasn’t. Mark Lawrence, Heather Lawrence’s father, has asked me to post this message. He says that Heather did see the girl sitting, because she was on her way to the office with the day’s attendance, and that school officials are now engaged in a coverup:
My name is Mark Lawrence – Heather’s Dad. Heather left her homeroom to take the attendance to the office. This has been verified thru other students in Heather’s homeroom. The Muslim girl was seated on at least 2 separate days during the Pledge. This has been verified thru other students also. Teachers have been told not to talk about this incident with the media. Students have been threatened not to talk about this incident with the press. The school changed their story from “the girl has the right not to stand during the Pledge” on Friday to “the girl was standing during the Pledge” on Monday morning.
This is an attempt at damage control by the school to remove the blame from the administration. The problem is they are doing this at the expense of my daughter. They have labeled her a liar and have tarnished her credibility. Please help me support my daughter and restore her reputation. Please encourage students and teachers to contact me and discuss what really happened at school that day. I have several reporters who want to document the truth and are willing to protect the identity of eye witnesses. Once these witnesses come forward the school will have to admit their smear campaign was nothing more than a poor attempt to divert attention from the administration at the expense of my daughter.
Help support a 16-year-old girl who is patriotic and deserves to have her name cleared. It is wrong for a school (teachers/principles/school board members) to pass blame onto a 16-year-old because they do not want to admit they are at fault. Is this what we want our children to learn in a public school? We as parents and adults have a moral responsibility to make sure those who are entrusted in teaching our children right from wrong, are accountable themselves to tell the truth. Read between the lines on the news the school has released. Do you really think a suspension would be reduced if Heather was lying?
Encourage students and teachers to contact me and do the right thing! Thank you.