Complaints increase patriotism at CVHS

A lack of patriotism at CVHS was recently addressed by a substitute teacher, leading to the school’s inclusion of more patriotic information in the public announcements. The school has responded by observing the pledge of allegiance and reporting constitutional “fun facts” over the announcements.

According to the California Education Code, every school in the state is required to perform at least one patriotic act a day.

“We’re just trying to add some spice or flavor to the generic ‘boring’ pledge every day,” said leadership teacher Michael Kentris.

The patriotic acts that have been incorporated into the daily routine of CVHS students and faculty have not been completely approved by everyone.

“Personally, I’m not sure whether or not we need more patriotism,” said leadership student and junior Lindsey Becerra.

Due to recent events involving police brutality, many influential athletes such as 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick have peacefully protested all patriotic tributes.

Recently Kaepernick sparked controversy when he refused to stand for the national anthem at his football games. He said that he believes that the brutality has not reflected equality in America, and therefore he did not support the pledge. This movement has resonated with many people, including some students at CVHS.

Becerra believes that although CVHS has become more outwardly patriotic, not all students are very passionate about it.

“Every individual has a different opinion on what they support or dislike about the country, so it’s just based off of their perspective and preferences,” Becerra said.

These changes to the announcements are stirring mixed feelings within the student body.

“I appreciate the fact that we have patriotic acts everyday when we have PA announcements but I can understand why some students can be annoyed or tired with it, because it can be overwhelming sometimes,” said Kentris.

Kentris went on to explain that he has tried to make the PA announcements more fun by incorporating fun themes such as “Freedom Fridays.” The leadership class also plans to announce “fun facts” about events that happened on particular days in American history.

CVHS is trying to make the announcements as fun and educational as possible and Leadership hopes to engage students as much as possible through these patriotic acts.