Asheboro student who wore Mexican flag to graduation finally gets diploma

A Randolph County student who was initially denied his diploma because he draped a Mexican flag over his gown during the graduation ceremony last week finally received the diploma on Monday.

Asheboro City Schools officials said Ever Lopez had violated the dress code for the graduation, so his diploma was withheld. Lopez and his family met with Asheboro High School Principal Penny Crooks on Monday to discuss the situation, and he emerged from the school triumphantly holding the diploma over his head.

"It's not just Ever's diploma. It's all of ours diploma. It's our community's diploma," his mother, Margarita Lopez, said through a translator to cheers and applause at a news conference. "We will keep moving forward so that this does not happen to any other student."

Margarita Lopez recalled the mix of emotions the family felt at the school's commencement last Thursday night.

"We were so proud the instant we heard his name being called – until we saw him approach the principal, where he was stopped, and we instantly got choked up," she said.

"This incident is not about the Mexican flag," the school district said in a statement. "Students were encouraged to express their identity by decorating their mortar boards. A number of students followed the protocol and had the Mexican flag and other representations appropriately displayed during the ceremony."

Ever Lopez said he doesn't believe he did anything wrong and said he was glad Crooks seems open to re-evaluating the graduation dress code.

"Hopefully, it does change, and we're allowed to wear whatever we want," he said. "I did what I had to do – represent, wear my flag and show my colors."

He said his parents never graduated from high school, but they emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. to ensure their children would. He is the first in his family with a high school diploma.

"It means the world to me," he said of the diploma. "because they're the ones that really wanted it for me. Like I said, I feel really grateful now that I have it because I fought hard for it [and] they fought hard for it."

Neither Crooks nor any other school district official responded to WRAL News' requests for comment on Monday. Instead, the district issued a two-sentence statement noting that Ever Lopez had picked up his diploma.

"As with all graduates, we wish him well, and we will continue to serve our community in ways that help all young people meet their full potential," the statement said.

Asheboro police say threats have been made against Crooks and the school, something the Lopez family condemns. Ever Lopez called the threats "straight stupid."

"We told her we would be shoulder to shoulder with her if it doesn't stop," he said of the family's conversation with Crooks.