When Ever Lopez decided to wear a Mexican flag to his high school graduation ceremony, he hoped to support his culture. Lopez didn't anticipate anyone would react strongly against it, but because of the flag, Lopez was denied his diploma.

At the Asheboro High School graduation ceremony on Thursday night, Lopez said he carried the flag in and draped it over his shoulders while he was seated. Lopez said he was seated near teachers, and no one mentioned the flag until he reached the stage. 

“I just gotta represent,” Lopez explains, “I did it for my family. They came over here to give me a better future.” 

As the first to graduate in his immediate family, the ceremony held a special significance for Lopez.

When his name was called, he stepped up on stage, ready to receive his diploma. The principal wouldn’t hand it over, though, and spoke with him quietly as a line of students waited behind him. After a few seconds, he walked off the stage without his diploma.

“I myself was very upset, and I had to contain my emotions because we're in a public area. We had a lot of people with eyes on us,” said Lopez’s cousin, Adolfo Hurtado.

Lopez said the administration told him he was being a distraction, but a statement from Asheboro City Schools says he was out of dress code.