NEW YORK CITY - A recent video showing a security guard at the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York City asking a group of students to stop singing the national anthem is gaining quite a bit of attention.
According to the New York Times, a middle school choir group from North Carolina was asked to cease their performance of the “Star-Spangled Banner” in front of the museum created to remember the lives lost during Sept. 11, 2001.
The 50 or so students were on a school field trip, according to the New York Times. A parent was filming the singing when the guard came over and told them to stop, the group stopped and quietly left.
Later, a video of the situation was posted.
Officials at the museum told the Times that groups interested in performing are required to pay $35 to apply for a permit and obey a list of rules that include not interfering with the flow of traffic and not using amplified sound. Unfortunately, the group says they were not aware of these rules.
Crystal Mulvey, a parent on the trip, told the Times she was shocked that the guard interrupted the national anthem because “it’s kind of a sacred song to us.” But, she added, “On the flip side, I completely understand following rules.”
Eventually, according to the Times, the students were invited to sing the anthem on Fox News.
The teacher with the students, Ms. Martha Brown, told the Times, “We turned it into a teaching moment and taught them that even if you don’t agree with it, or understand it, you must respect authority,” she said.
