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San Ramon’s California High School has been cast into the national spotlight in the past week after a decision by the school’s student leadership class to not play the national anthem during last month’s pep rally.
The decision came about after some members of the leadership class were contacted about concerns over the controversial and racially charged lyrics in the third verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner” — a verse that is not sung in renditions of the anthem.
“I have said this before and I will say this again, that ASB stands for Associated Student Body, that means for all,” wrote ASB president Ariyana Kermanizadeh in an open letter to the school newspaper The Californian, which initially broke the story. “After learning about the third verse, the other ASB officers and I thought that this was completely unacceptable and must be removed from the rally.”
The students’ decision only applies to the four annual pep rallies organized by the ASB, and does not affect any other Cal High events, said Elizabeth Graswich, spokeswoman for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.
Thus far, it has only applied to the Jan. 19 pep rally. It is unclear whether the anthem will be played at the next and final pep rally of the year in May.
Not everyone was happy with the decision.
Dennis Fiorentinos, a Cal High senior, noticed the absence of the anthem at last month’s rally, and was upset once he found out that the ASB had opted to discontinue its playing.
“Only a couple of students decided on such a pivotal issue,” he said.
News of the ASB’s anthem decision began spreading earlier this week, and the story has been picked up by national outlets like the Washington Times and Fox News, in addition to Bay Area-wide news organizations.
The controversy comes a year after the school received national attention for incidents of racist graffiti, and now at a time when promoting an inclusive school culture is a priority, members of the leadership class wrote in a message to the Cal High community.
“The decision did not come from a place of disrespect for our great military and country, but rather out of a desire to show respect to those who have been marginalized and alienated,” they wrote.
The third verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner” is rarely performed, but Kermanizadeh said that didn’t matter. She cited the controversial verse in her open letter:
“No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and home of the brave.”
“This verse translated, finds joy in the killing of African-Americans,” she wrote.
In opposing the ASB decision, Fiorentinos said that while he understands the problems with the racially charged words, nevertheless most Americans aren’t familiar with the third verse, and that on a deeper level, the national anthem stands for unity and freedom.
Fiorentinos contacted local news outlets to voice his outrage, including KTVU, ABC7, NBC Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle and the East Bay Times. He was scheduled to appear on “Fox and Friends” Thursday at 3 a.m., but the interview was canceled due to the fatal school shooting in Florida.
The Cal High leadership class plans to hold an evening meeting open to all community members to discuss the issue, according to the letter they sent out, with further information on the event to be posted by the end of the week. The date has not yet been announced.
Cal High principal Sarah Cranford deferred comment on the issue to Graswich in the district office.
Graswich said that this would be used as a learning opportunity and a chance to engage in a conversation.
“One of our district priorities is ‘Deliberately prioritize and provide a world-class education where our focus on Inclusion, Cultural Responsiveness and Response to Intervention ensures that each student, employee and family feels safe and respected,'” Graswich said in an email.
“Decisions about rallies are made by the student leaders,” she added. “The students understand that there are objections to their decision and will be using this opportunity to have further dialog about future rallies.”