During the 2016 NFL preseason, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose not to stand during national anthem. The athlete told reporters that he believes action should be taken to fix the nation’s racial and social conflicts. When asked about his reasonings behind the protest, Kaepernick told NFL.com, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.”

His act of protest caused uproar and controversy across the country. Other professional and nonprofessional athletes began to join Kaepernick in his cause. While many people were offended and confused by Kaepernick’s opposition, others were inspired and supportive of his claims.

“I completely support Kaepernick,” junior Cass McGrane said. “I think he has every single right to stand up for what he believes in. If he doesn’t want to stand up for the national anthem that is talking about his country, his country that doesn’t respect him or his race and his people as a whole, then that’s his right.”

Due to online news coverage, the movement began to reach social media. Many teenagers and young adults became aware of and voiced their opinions on the controversy. Some students began showing their support in schools and classrooms by sitting down during the Pledge of Allegiance.

“I sit down for the pledge because I don’t necessarily agree with the message and reasons behind it,” McGrane said. “I wouldn’t say it’s discriminatory towards the people but more towards ideas and religions. The words ‘under God’ are in the pledge and not everyone in America believes in God. That implies that everyone should believe in the same thing, which I don’t agree with. Some things said in the pledge are not true. Some people don’t believe that they are free or have liberty and justice for all  and America doesn’t have liberty and justice for all as we can see in recent news stories. Making everyone stand up for it and say it isn’t right. It’s almost like we are going through these motions without thinking about it and a lot of the times, we don’t mean it. There isn’t a good enough reason for me to say it.”

Many students have mixed feelings toward their peers’ form of protest. Although not many have chosen to sit, many have shown support for those that do.

“Children should have a right to protest at school,” sophomore Lorraine Anderson said. “As part of the LGBTQ community, I’m terrified of all of the anger and resentment in the country. Honestly people need to just come together but we all know that isn’t going to happen. It’s terrifying. There is still racism, sexism, etc., and there is no excuse for that. As long as people aren’t getting hurt, I think the protests are fine. I stand up, but not for any reason. I just do it. It’s like instinct to me and maybe that’s why people are so mad.”

While many are supportive, others have shown hostility toward the subject. Some feel although it is not a requirement to stand for the pledge, it is disrespectful to sit down.

“It’s their right to not stand for or say the Pledge of Allegiance, but I find it pretty disrespectful,” sophomore Nic Talarico said. “People have died for that flag, and to me, sitting down is just ignoring what they did. Just because it’s your right to do something, doesn’t always make it the right thing to do.”

The Pledge of Allegiance was created in the 1800s, but was not made a requirement in schools until 1943. America is the only country that recites a Pledge of Allegiance in schools, except for North Korea. The difference however, is that unlike America, in North Korea it is a requirement that all students must say the pledge where as in America it is only encouraged. With Troy having a high population of non-American citizens, many students feel as though it is unnecessary for them to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance due to their personal cultures.

Paula Torrable Lacalle, an exchange student from Spain, has had mixed feelings about standing for the pledge since arriving.

“We don’t do that, so that was weird for me when I first came here. It’s more an American thing,” Lacalle said. “It’s weird for me because, of course, this is not my country. I do it [stand], because I feel like I have to.”