One Year After Taking Down School's Mexican Flag, Student Has No Regrets

By KRIV Houston & Kristine Galvan

Published May 06, 2011

| Fox News Latino

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By KRIV Houston & Kristine Galvan

Published May 06, 2011



For a lot of revelers, Cinco de Mayo represents an excuse to down Mexican beer, margaritas, and just get loud with friends.

But last year, no one made as much noise, in a very different way, than Nick Morris, a quiet teenager living in a Houston suburb.

"I said that's not right," Morris told FOX 26 News last year.

Back then, at just 15 years old, Morris did something that earned him a 3-day in school suspension at Klein Collins High School.



School administrators had given one of Morris’ classmates, permission to display the Mexican flag for Cinco de Mayo, but Morris didn't agree with the display. He said the Mexican flag was bigger and flying above the American flag, and holiday or not, it was an inappropriate display for an American school.

He took a picture and sent it to his Mom. She called the school and complained.

But when they refused to fix it, Morris stepped in. He took it down and threw it away.

"They didn't decorate today," Morris said on this one-year anniversary of the flag flap.

Now, 16, Morris has experienced things most teenagers don't. The flag problem landed him on local talk radio, in newspapers, and on both local and national television news programs.

Yet, he still doesn't have a driver’s license.

Over the past year, he's experienced the support of total strangers, who donated replacement flags so he wouldn't bear any expense. They also set up a trust fund to pay for his college, though he wouldn't divulge how much money he collected.

But he also endured the taunts of some classmates.

"They'd walk behind me in the hallway, murmur and I could hear them obviously."

Earlier today, as he was getting dressed for school, Morris thought about the Cinco de Mayo holiday, what he did last year, and couldn't help but wonder what his classmates would say.

"I was anticipating a very interesting day, but I knew everything was going to be okay," he said.

And it was. No problems for this military bound teenager. He'll be back in class Friday, not on suspension.

If you ask, Morris will tell you he's matured a lot over the last year, but...

"If the flag was back up there, I would definitely take it back down again," he said. "The way I handled it maybe could've been a lot different, but I would definitely do it again."

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