Lipscomb Academy, a Christian school in Nashville, confirmed to The Tennessee Star that upper school students were not allowed to wear suit jackets and red ties on September 11 to mourn the assassination of Charlie Kirk, stating the students did not have permission to wear clothing items that deviated from its dress code.
While the school initially told The Star on Tuesday that students were eventually granted permission to wear the formal clothing on a later date, the Lipscomb Academy spokesman confirmed under further questioning on Wednesday that this did not take place, and instead said the students voluntarily opted against wearing jackets and ties in favor of planning a still-upcoming chapel service.
“While the students gained approval and planned to wear a red tie, they ultimately chose to collaborate with administration to plan a future chapel focused on being impactful in their faith,” said the spokesman.
Parents of Lipscomb Academy students disputed both series of events offered by the school, telling The Star on Tuesday that their children, part of a group of about 20 who sought to publicly honor Kirk’s legacy, were tracked down by faculty and forced to remove their formal attire, and that the Christian school has not addressed the impact of Kirk’s killing with students to date.
“I was shocked when I heard that the head of the High School, Jesse Savage, targeted young men at school for wearing red ties and suits in honor of Charlie Kirk,” the mother of one student told The Star. “These boys were peacefully honoring and paying respects to a Christian leader that has impacted their growth in faith and family.”
She stated, “Mr. Savage hunted down the boys that day, made them take off their red ties and suits, and when they explained that they were paying respects to Charlie Kirk, he said ‘you are out of dress code.’”
The mother also expressed concern that the students had not received ministry from the Christian school about Kirk’s assassination.
“The student body feels attacked by Mr. Savage because he intentionally disrespected them and the ministry of Charlie Kirk,” she told The Star.
Another Lipscomb Academy parent, a father who told The Star his family has been involved with the school for more than a decade, corroborated this series of events.
“When my children came home and told me that Principal Savage had rounded up the boys who were wearing red ties to show their love for Charlie Kirk, and demanded that they take them off, I couldn’t believe this was happening at a Christian school, literally the day after Charlie was murdered,” he told The Star.
“Principal Savage even sent an email to the faculty telling them to send any kid wearing a red tie to his office,” the father claimed. “He targeted them specifically.”
Once assembled, the Lipscomb Academy parent said the students pleaded with the Head of Upper School, Jesse Savage, but that their requests fell on deaf ears.
“These boys pleaded with Mr. Savage to allow them to honor Charlie with their red ties, but Mr. Savage would not budge. Our kids are still reeling from this experience,” said the father.
He told The Star, “The parent body is calling on Dr. [Candice] McQueen, the head of Lipscomb University and Academy, to immediately terminate Mr Savage from this institution.”
Former Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen is the president of Lipscomb University, which oversees Lipscomb Academy, a K-12 Christian school.
These accounts contradict the statement provided to The Star by a Lipscomb Academy spokesman on Tuesday, which claimed the school later sanctioned the wearing of suit jackets and red ties, as well as the statement sent by the same spokesman on Wednesday, which added that the students voluntarily opted against wearing the ties and jackets in favor of an unspecified future chapel service.
The spokesman told The Star, “the students sought an opportunity to speak boldly about their faith during an upcoming chapel service and are currently collaborating with the Academy’s spiritual formation team to make that a reality.”
Other questions from The Star went unanswered, including requests for details on whether the upcoming chapel service will directly address Kirk’s assassination, clarification about whether faculty members have discussed the impact of the public murder on a college campus, and how the school is communicating its decisions to students and parents.
The school’s handling of the students’ effort to mourn Kirk came amid high-profile disciplinary actions or firings of university faculty across Tennessee over incendiary remarks made following his death. These include faculty members at Cumberland University, Austin Peay State University, Middle Tennessee State University, and the University of Tennessee – Knoxville.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Charlie Kirk” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Well TN did inflict the Gores on the US. I fail to understand these pockets on people so out of step with the base in their state. TX had a moslem school superitendent who had a habit of sexual impropriety and hitting women. Now Iowa has a knife and gun carrying POS just arrested by ICE. They recruited and paid thesze dredful people hundreds of thousands of taxpayers money. Got to be the wokeness virus.
This is so weird and just screams entitlement.
Just imagine if it was a black lives matter shirt, and the teacher told them to remove it. Imagine the outrage
For some reason when I click on Reply it is not allowing me to reply. For those of you saying the way they dressed were outside of the “Code” I suggest you actually look at what the student handbook says about proper attire. Below is what I found when I did that, before commenting.
Lipscomb Academy, a private Christian school for grades K-12, enforces a dress code requiring students to wear appropriate attire that reflects modesty standards suited for Christian living and professional appearance.
While there is no specific mention of a uniform, students are expected to maintain a tidy, clean, and modest appearance, avoiding ripped clothing and items deemed inappropriate, such as hoodies or hats in campus dining facilities or on public property.
The school’s policy emphasizes self-respect, pride, and sound judgment in clothing choices.
How is this a story? Some high schoolers were out of dress code and now some has to be fired? Really?
Our child was one that wore a tie and in no way was he treated like this. He was kindly told that they understand his point but they must still enforce the dress code. Lipscomb was in a tough spot and handled it was well as possible.
So…basically students at this school do not have to follow any rules. They didn’t seek permission to dress outside of dress code before wearing the suits. And now someone has been fired who was not disparaging Charlie Kirk in any way as in the case of the other firings but who was simply doing their job of enforcing the dress code, which is in place so that outside influences do not become a distraction to their education and learning environment. What have they learned? The rules don’t apply to them, they get their way when they throw a fit, teacher and administrators are at their mercy, and how to be a bully. Great job parents! They should contribute tremendously to society! I wonder what will happen the first time they are told no at a their first job.
We all grieved the loss of Charlie Kirk. No was was asked not to grieve.
Dr Jesse Savage is a good and fair leader
Since we on the right do not use violence to settle such blatant disregard for this organization’s, supposedly a CHRISTIAN university and school, refusal to honor their students’ grief, I suggest parents and donors use the other method that speaks louder. MONEY. And I hope that the state of Tennessee will check into their financial records.
Pitiful leadership. Remove Mr Savage.