Title: What it means when students sit for the Pledge – Roaring Gazette
Headings: What it means when students sit for the Pledge
What it means when students sit for the Pledge
Content: Sitting and kneeling is your God given right that was fought for by these people, don’t use your rights disgracing those who actually earned that change for you to be so entitled,” argued Nataniah Guzman. However, some students wanted to make it clear that by sitting as a silent protest, they are not disrespecting their country. “I sit because, not just in today’s political climate, but especially today’s political climate, there’s a lot of things that aren’t liberty and justice for all….I feel like as African Americans in America we don’t get treated equally, so why would I stand for something that I believe is a lie? It’s not out of disrespect, it’s not like I hate our country or disrespect our troops, because I have people in my family who are in the military, but I feel like if they serve our country and then they come back and don’t get the equal treatment, who’s really being more disrespectful?” Explained Lauryn Lynch, Senior. Many students expressed similar grievances towards those who sat, arguing that these students were disrespecting their country and those who fought for the United States in the military. Others stated that while they absolutely respected students’ right to sit, they believed that students ought to have a good reason to do so. “I think that if people know what they are protesting then they have every right to sit, but someone who sits and doesn’t know what they’re protesting is just lazy and ignorant in my opinion,” expressed Dylan Loughheed. Despite this, not every student who sits during the Pledge is engaging in an impassioned act of protest. Some students expressed their general indifference towards the Pledge, and how they simply did not feel the need to stand.