A high school senior has been denied his diploma after wearing a Mexican flag over his gown.
Ever Lopez, 18, a student at Asheboro High school, was reportedly prevented from receiving his high school diploma after decorating his cap and gown with a Mexican flag, NBC News reports.
Footage of the incident subsequently went viral on various social media platforms, including TikTok and Reddit, after the school claimed the customization was in violation of its dress code, which is why faculty members took disciplinary action.
Lopez and other supporting students can be seen being "shooed out" in one video of the incident, according to text explaining the situation, with police officers moving them along.
Captions on the video state that the student in question is of Mexican heritage, with some branding the school's decision as an act of "racism".
A protest was subsequently staged at the high school by students in support of Lopez, as revealed by a series of tweets shared by WXII reporter Lee Anne Denyer.
The students carried Mexican flags to show their support and signs that read "FREE EVER'S DIPLOMA".
"Sadly, he did not get the diploma. The teacher wants him to apologize - obviously he's not going to do that," Adolfo Hurtado, who filmed the footage, said in a separate video afterward.
"It's crazy. I didn’t expect for all this to happen," Lopez told Denyer. "It happened so quickly. It’s all love."
"Hopefully things happen and I get my diploma," he added.
Asheboro City Schools released a statement about the incident which said they "strongly support our students’ expressions of their heritage in the appropriate time and place," and saying they would work with "the student and his family so that he will receive his diploma from Asheboro High School."
Per NBC, the school district said it had been "misrepresented" across social media, and that the incident was "not about the Mexican flag", but that Lopez had violated the dress code, which does not allow flags to be worn.
"We are disheartened by the many comments by those not present at the event, along with those by individuals who do not have all of the facts," the district said.
In the wake of the incident, the statement said that the school would be reviewing its dress code, which had previously allowed for some deviation.
Lopez told WXII that he is hoping that it will become less strict in the future, allowing the students more opportunities to express themselves.
"Let us be ourselves," he said.
.jpg_NIzroO?tr=h-184)