5:27 p.m. -- Rupert student says teacher tossed his Mexican flag in trash

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http://www.magicvalley.com
- The Associated Press
Edition Date: 05/07/08

TWIN FALLS, Idaho — An instructor at a south-central Idaho high school says he took a Mexican flag away from a student on Monday and put it in the garbage because he feared "white kids" in the physical education class might harm the student with the flag.
"I had to confiscate it so it wouldn't escalate any problems in class," instructor Clint Straatman told The Times-News. "We're worried about that stuff all the time. We always have kids saying stuff to each other, and we have a lot of fights between kids."

The student, 16-year-old Froylan Camelo, and others brought Mexican flags to Minico High School in Rupert to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, the May 5 recognition of Mexico's victory over the French army on that day in 1862.

Camelo said he was changing into gym clothes before the class when Straatman told him, "Give me the flag."

"I said, 'What's the problem?'" Camelo said. "He said, 'The problem is that we are in the United States and not in Mexico.' He grabbed it from me. He threw the flag in the garbage can."

Straatman denied saying those words. He said he took the flag from Camelo after Camelo had been waving it in the school gym. Straatman said he put the flag in the garbage because he had no other place to keep it.

Camelo said he's been contacted by the American Civil Liberties Union and is considering a lawsuit against Straatman.

"They're making it sound like I grabbed the flag and slammed it into the garbage can, and that's not true," Straatman said.

He also said Camelo is an English as a Second Language student and that Camelo likely didn't understand what he said.

Camelo said up to seven other students witnessed the incident. Straatman said he was the only adult in the gym with 85 students.

Scott Rogers, superintendent of the Minidoka County Joint School District, said an investigation has been started. He said he could not comment specifically about personnel decisions.

"We believe in nondiscriminatory practices and cultural sensitivity," he said. "We train for that and talk about that. 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."

Camelo said that Straatman told him the flag would be returned at the end of the school day, but that Straatman instead taunted him when he went to get the flag.

"I asked, 'Where is my flag?'" Camelo said. "He said, 'What, the U.S. flag?' I said, 'No, the one for Mexico.' But he wouldn't give it to me."

Camelo said he then took the undamaged flag out of the garbage.

Straatman said he didn't withhold Camelo's flag after class, and that he didn't tell Camelo to carry a U.S. flag instead.

Camelo said it wasn't the first time Straatman had denigrated Latino students.

"That same day he said the Mexicans don't pay taxes," Camelo said. Also, Camelo said that on other occasions Straatman told Latino students to "run like they were being chased by immigration agents" and he referred to his students as "wetbacks."

"He told me, 'You need to learn English or you should go to Mexico.'"

"That is not true, never," said Straatman, noting he has several Latino friends who speak English poorly. "If I had a problem with Hispanics, I wouldn't associate with these people," Straatman said. "Nobody ever called me a racist before."

Rogers said he was at the school early Wednesday and that the school was quiet. He said he noticed a few students wearing clothing the color of the Mexican flag - red, white and green - that was part of a protest over Monday's incident.

"It's been quiet and focused on the task of education and that's what we wanted," Rogers said.

He said 34 percent of the students at the school are Hispanic.

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