Teen defies school by wearing sash with U.S. and Mexican flags to graduation

A Colorado student stood up for what she believed in by defying a school district policy that did not allow her to wear a sash sporting both the American and Mexican flags to her graduation ceremony. 

“Always stand up for what you believe in,” said Naomi Peña Villasano after receiving her diploma from Grand Valley High School on Saturday.

Peña Villasano wanted to wear a sash that had both the American flag on one side and the Mexican flag on the other side to her high school graduation ceremony.

The sash was a gift from one of her brothers. 

"I'm a 200 percenter—100 percent American and 100 percent Mexican," Peña Villasano, referring to her cultural background. Her Parents immigrated from Mexico, but she was born in Colorado. 

Gov. Jared Polis signed a law Friday allowing Native Americans to wear traditional regalia at graduations. Now, 18-year-old Naomi Peña Villasano is calling for more ethnicities to be included. https://t.co/N70ka3dhkZ pic.twitter.com/zNTaaQvM0D

— The Colorado Sun (@ColoradoSun) May 5, 2023

However, school officials said she would be banned from the graduation ceremonies if she wore the sash.

The school says that individualized sashes cannot be worn during graduation “to protect the symbolic traditions that signify the graduates’ academic accomplishments and services to the community.

"Each stole [sash], cord, or pin worn over the graduate’s gown symbolizes academic honors, school-sponsored activities, and military enlistment,” the school said in a statement.

Peña Villasano took her case to the school board and eventually to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. On Friday, after a month-long dispute, a federal judge ruled that Peña Villasano could be barred from wearing the sash at graduation, claiming that the ceremony falls under the school's sponsored speech.  

“The School District is permitted to restrict that speech as it sees fit in the interest of the kind of graduation it would like to hold,” wrote Judge Nina Y. Wang. 

Luckily, the high school graduate was able to receive her diploma while weaning her Mexican-American stole after she partially covered it up with a gold Key Club International one. 

"It’s unfortunate that I had to focus on fighting for my rights instead of celebrating my last month as a senior and focusing on the celebration and my ceremony. But I think it's an experience, and it's a life lesson that a lot of people tend to face."
– Naomi Peña Villasano✊🏽 pic.twitter.com/HCUC2vkvfv

— Voces Unidas (@VocesUnidasOrg) May 28, 2023

“I was nervous. I'm not gonna lie, I was super nervous about what everyone's reaction would be,” the student said. 

Peña Villasano is the latest dispute in the county about what is appropriate cultural graduation attire at commencement ceremonies. In light of Peña Villasano’s actions and the nationwide attention they drew, the school district said it would reconsider graduation sash policies for next year.