Politics & Government

Residents Give Viewpoints on Pledge Recitation

Daily reading of Pledge of Allegiance becoming hot-button issue in Arlington schools.

***Editor's Note: Sean Harrington, the local 17 year old supporting the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and this story have been featured nationally on Fox News and beyond on June 29 and 30.

Arlington residents had varying beliefs Wednesday on whether or not the Pledge of Allegiance should be recited daily in the town's public schools.

Older residents, especially males, asked in Arlington center tended to support the daily recitation, while other residents didn't see the point.

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Arlington High junior Sean Harrington brought the issue forward at Tuesday's School Committee meeting. Always a controversial topic, the Pledge is not currently recited daily in Arlington's high school (though it is in the elementaries and middle school), and Harrington thinks that's just not right.

"We are disrespecting the document by not having it in the school," he said at the meeting backed by a dozen supporters.

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Harrington submitted a petition with more than 700 signatures in favor of his proposal. He wants the Pledge to be recited but believes nobody should be forced to partake.

Harrington's request failed to gain approval Tuesday, as the committee tied 3-3 on its motion. However, Harrington said he will continue to pursue the matter.

A look at the resident responses:

Francis De Guglielmo

Arlington resident Francis De Guglielmo may be Harrington's No. 1 fan.

Wearing a "U.S.A." T-shirt in Arlington center Wednesday, the 55-year-old De Guglielmo was shocked to hear that the Pledge is no longer recited, calling it an "absolute travesty" and a "disgrace."

"This is the United States of America. When I was going to school, it was an honor and a privilege to pledge allegiance to the flag," said an animated De Guglielmo, a Cambridge native. "My grandparents were immigrants to this country, and it was engrained to me at a young age to be proud to be an American with all of the country's mistakes, with all its shortcomings and misgivings. It is still the greatest country in the world."

De Guglielmo, who volunteers at St. Anthony Shrine's Franciscan Food Center in Boston, said he is all for tolerance but doesn't believe the Pledge is imposing.

Corey Hatch

Corey Hatch lives in Arlington but attends Minuteman Career and Technical High School in Lexington, where the Pledge is recited daily.

Hatch, 15, said most students don't recite or even listen to it, so he doesn't see the need to have it in Arlington.

"I don't see a point to it," he said. "I don't think students gain anything from hearing it."

Students at Minuteman don't have to recite the Pledge but are required to stand during it, Hatch said.

Rebecca Arnold

Rebecca Arnold, an Arlington mother of two young children, has mixed feelings about reciting the Pledge in schools.

"I think it's nice for the students to say something all together," she said outside the town's farmers' market, "but I don't think it needs to be the pledge."

Arnold, 32, said there are many ways to be patriotic, such as volunteering on a political campaign or for a local organization.

"Having the Pledge of Allegiance be (the only way to show patriotism) is a pretty narrow view," she said.


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