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Heather Lawrence didn't know the name of the girl with the Muslim head covering or where she was from.

But as Lawrence walked by a classroom at Springstead High School the 16-year-old junior did know one thing: The girl wasn't standing for the Pledge of Allegiance, reports the St. Petersburg Times.

Lawrence is a proud American. She is a JROTC member who plans to enlist in the Army next summer. She says she was aghast.

A few bells later, Lawrence was on her way to English class when she saw the girl wearing a hijab in the hallway. Lawrence confronted her.

She told her she should stand for the pledge. And, according to Lawrence's own account said, "Take that thing off your head and act like you're proud to be an American."

A teacher overheard the encounter. Now Lawrence is serving a five-day, out-of-school suspension, and her parents are considering legal action.

"You have someone in the States who is able to enjoy our educational and health care systems, yet it's okay for them to be disrespectful, and it's not okay for my daughter to speak her mind," said Mark Lawrence, Heather's father. "That's her First Amendment right. That's her freedom of speech."

Springstead principal Susan Duval said school officials stand behind the punishment. Heather Lawrence violated the district's policy against bullying and harassment, Duval said. She was disciplined not for telling the girl to stand, but for her other comments — comments that Duval called atrocious.

After the incident, Lawrence was asked by a school staffer why she confronted the girl. "She began to rant that she was enlisting and was going to Iraq and that basically because the girl looks Middle Eastern, that makes her an enemy because all Iraqis are Middle Eastern," according to the referral signed by assistant principal Stephen Crognale.

Lawrence denies she said that or feels that way.

"Terrorists, regardless of who they are, what color they are, are the enemy," she said.

Heather Lawrence has her own unpleasant pledge memory.

She spent six months in Mexico while her father worked a contracting job and was booted out of a private school for not saying the pledge to the Mexican flag. But that was in Spanish — a language she doesn't know — and so she stopped trying to fake it. And, she says, she still stood up.

So, was Heather right or wrong?

You decide.

Photo: [WILL VRAGOVIC | Times]
Heather Lawrence, 16, was suspended from Springstead High School after telling a Muslim student to stand up during the Pledge of Allegiance.

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SPRING HILL — The JROTC member at Springstead High School who said she confronted a Muslim student last week because the girl did not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance fabricated that part of the story, school officials said Monday.

Heather Lawrence, a 16-year-old junior at the school, has said she was walking by another homeroom Wednesday morning when she saw a girl with the traditional Muslim head scarf sitting during the pledge.

Later, Lawrence said she confronted the girl, told her she should stand during the pledge and, according to her own account and a school report, said, "Take that thing off your head and act like you're proud to be an American."

A teacher witnessed the confrontation and Lawrence was suspended for five days for violating the district's policy against bullying and harassment. The suspension has since been reduced to three days.

But Lawrence could not have seen what she said she saw, Springstead principal Susan Duval said Monday.

"This girl lied," Duval said. "I have confirmed with the homeroom teacher the young lady stood for the pledge."

The girl and her parents also insist she was standing, Duval said.

And Lawrence never left her own homeroom, according to her teacher, Duval said.

Duval said Lawrence claimed she was asked to take the homeroom attendance count to the office. But Duval said her homeroom teacher disputes that.

"She never left homeroom," Duval said.

"She's compounded the story as an explanation as to why she felt it was OK to make a very disparaging comment to this young lady," Duval said.

Mark Lawrence, reached by phone on Monday, defended his daughter.

"My daughter told me what she saw and I stand by what my daughter saw," Mark Lawrence said. "I think (school officials) are trying to do some damage control."

He noted that after a conference Monday, his daughter's suspension was reduced to three days. She will return to school Wednesday.

Duval said that's because school officials often reduce punishments when there has been a successful parent conference. Mark Lawrence refused last week to sign his daughter's referral. He did this morning, Duval said.

And no harsher punishment for lying? "I'm trying to get this resolved and move on," Duval replied.

After the incident, Lawrence was asked by a teacher why she confronted the girl.

"She began to rant that she was enlisting and was going to Iraq and that basically because the girl looks Middle Eastern, that makes her an enemy because all Iraqis are Middle Eastern," according to the referral signed by assistant principal Stephen Crognale.

Lawrence, who says she plans to enlist in the Army, denied Friday she said that or feels that way. She told the St. Petersburg Times that telling the student to take off her hijab was a little "over the edge" and that she would consider apologizing.

That apology is also part of Lawrence's discipline, assistant superintendent Sonya Jackson said Monday.

"My understanding is there will be communication to iron this thing out," Jackson said.

The story, reported by the Times and other local media on Friday, went viral, prompting conservative bloggers to praise Lawrence for speaking her mind and bashing school officials for quelling her free speech rights.

Duval said the school has received calls from angry people who have "abused" her staff.

School officials would not release the identity of the Muslim student or any other facts about her. Duval did confirm the girl is new to Springstead this year.

Ahmed Bedier, president of the Human Rights Council and a personal friend of the family was relaying a request by the Times for comment this afternoon. But the family is reluctant to go on record with the media, he said.

On Saturday, the Muslim girl's father found his daughter reading online news stories about the incident and the comments from readers, Bedier said.

"She was crying," Bedier said. "She said, 'I didn't do anything wrong. Why are these people saying all these horrible things?'"

"To her, somebody made a mean comment and she just kept walking," Bedier said. She never expected any of this to happen."

The story is troublesome because it has stoked negative feelings toward Muslims among some Americans, Bedier said.

"There are some very known anti-Muslim blogs and Web sites and they're taking up this cause of Heather Lawrence," he said. This girl got caught bullying someone else, and to deflect it she's making it about patriotism and the flag.

Major Dennis Jolissaint of Springstead's JROTC program would not comment specifically on Lawrence's case this afternoon. But any JROTC member given out-of-school suspension is automatically barred from taking part in JROTC extracurricular activities for 60 days, Jolissaint said.

"We hold our students to a higher standard than the school population," he said.

Tony Marrero can be reached at tmarrero@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1431.

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She told her she should stand for the pledge. And, according to Lawrence's own account said, "Take that thing off your head and act like you're proud to be an American."

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"You have someone in the States who is able to enjoy our educational and health care systems, yet it's okay for them to be disrespectful, and it's not okay for my daughter to speak her mind," said Mark Lawrence, Heather's father. "That's her First Amendment right. That's her freedom of speech."

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Heather Lawrence violated the district's policy against bullying and harassment, Duval said.

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"Terrorists, regardless of who they are, what color they are, are the enemy," she said.

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Updated: Heather Lawrence lied

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"This girl lied," Duval said. "I have confirmed with the homeroom teacher the young lady stood for the pledge."

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She told the St. Petersburg Times that telling the student to take off her hijab was a little "over the edge" and that she would consider apologizing.

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"There are some very known anti-Muslim blogs and Web sites and they're taking up this cause of Heather Lawrence," he said. This girl got caught bullying someone else, and to deflect it she's making it about patriotism and the flag.

Temerit

Sep 17 2009, 12:44 AM

My history teacher said he was at the world war 2 memorial in dc and a father was with his two teenage sons. One of the kids asked how many stars there were (there are 4,000). My history teacher overhearing them said that there were four thousand representing the men who died. The kids father said "I knew more soldiers died in Iraq than WW2" Then my history teacher said "each of the stars represents 100 fallen men". (And WW2 wasn't near as long)

Freki

Sep 17 2009, 04:00 AM

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties.htm

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Of course, the number of Iraqi deaths seems to be mostly ignored - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War

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"You have someone in the States who is able to enjoy our educational and health care systems, yet it's okay for them to be disrespectful, and it's not okay for my daughter to speak her mind," said Mark Lawrence, Heather's father. "That's her First Amendment right. That's her freedom of speech."