GUILDERLAND — The American flag was flown at half-staff in front of Guilderland High School this week to honor a student who died on March 1.
The practice is being questioned by George Truscott, a freshman at the school. He writes in a letter to the Enterprise editor this week, "I was greatly disturbed and angered by this violation of flag etiquette"."
"It’s part of our crisis response team protocol," said Principal Michael Piccirillo.

The flag was last flown at half-staff in May, he said, after another student died.

Piccirillo said it is a way to honor the memory of the deceased.
The death of a student has "a ripple effect," said Piccirillo. "Emotions run the gamut from sadness to confusion to why somebody so young passed away. It’s always very difficult for students and adults."

As part of the protocol, counselors were available, Piccirillo said, in the social workers’ and guidance office, starting Friday, and a conference room was opened so students could talk through their grief and feeling.

"Breach of etiquette"

The Flag Code was adopted by the National Flag Conference in 1923 and was last updated by Congress in 1999.
The code has a section on "position and manner of display," which says, "By order of the President, the flag shall be flown at half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory. In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half-staff according to Presidential instructions or orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law."

Michael Buss, assistant director of the American Legion National Headquarters, based in Indianapolis, said that a high school should not fly an American flag at half-staff to honor a student.
"There’s no civil penalty for a violation of the Flag Code," said Buss. "It’s just a breach of etiquette."
He went on, "There are other ways to commemorate a loss like that. They could fly the school flag at half-staff. Or they could purchase a black, triangular pennant and fly that beneath the United States flag."
Asked if the part of the code that says "or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with the law" might allow flying the American flag at half-staff for the death of a student.
"Some people try to make that a gray area, but it’s not," said Buss, reiterating it’s "not consistent with law."

"Very patriotic"
Asked what prompted him to write a letter to the editor, Truscott said, "I like to think that I’m a very patriotic person. I stay within the rules. The school was breaking the rules."
He said of honoring someone with a flag at half-staff, "That is a very special privilege"You cannot just have that for any Tom, Dick, and Harry. If you don’t tell people the rules, the rules go away and that leads to chaos."
While Truscott was aware the half-staff honor was for a special few, he said, he wasn’t fully versed on the rule and so went on-line. "I Googled ‘flag’ and ‘etiquette,’" he said. He said he hadn’t talked to any teachers or administrators at school about his findings.

Truscott and his father have had a history of run-ins with the school district, beginning when Truscott was a new student, in the fourth grade, at Guilderland Elementary School.

It was after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks and he wanted a Halloween costume that was patriotic and original, he recalled. His father helped him make a Minuteman costume that included a cut-out of a wooden musket. The school had a policy that forbade weapons or weapon replicas.
Truscott stayed home from school the day of the costume parade rather than marching without his pretend musket. This week, he called the school’s stance back then "appalling and outrageous."
His father was proud to serve in the military and his brother, a senior at Guilderland High School, was nominated to go to the Naval Academy and the Virginia Military Institute, said Truscott, naming a long list of "best generals" who attended, from Stonewall Jackson to George Patton.
George Truscott, himself, may pursue a military career, he said. "It would be an honor and a privilege to serve my country," he said.
He concluded that the reason he objects to the half-staff flag at the high school is not just that it is "against the rules" but, he said, "It’s about respect for the flag".I have to deal with all these kids," he said, referring to students who mock the pledge to the flag at school.
"No one cares," said Truscott, stating on Monday he heard someone saying, "I pledge allegiance to the government of Indonesia."
"They say stupid things," said Truscott. "We need to respect the flag"obey and understand and learn the Pledge of Allegiance."
Asked if he thought the school had meant any disrespect to the flag by flying it at half-staff, Truscott replied, "I’m not the school. I don’t know."
Asked if the school would change its policy in light of the stipulation in the Flag Code, Piccirillo said, "We’ll certainly discuss it. I’m not sure we’ll change it. Maybe we’ll have to come up with an alternate way of recognizing the person and honoring their memory."
Piccirillo concluded, "Some people are apparently more interested in particular protocol than how that impacts people. That’s the world we live in."