NEWS

River View student petitions for Pledge

Joe Williams
Reporter
Eighth-grader Jerimiah Mayle led a successful petition drive to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each morning at his school, River View Junior High School.

WARSAW - When Jerimiah Mayle transferred to River View Junior High School last November, he realized something was missing from his school day: The Pledge of Allegiance.

Originally from Zanesville, Mayle, 14 and an eighth-grader, now lives with his grandmother south of Coshocton on County Road 6. At Zanesville Middle School, Mayle and his schoolmates had recited the pledge "every single day, every single morning. When I came here ... it just felt weird not doing it," he said.

Within a week or two, Mayle asked his new principal, Jerry Olinger, why the school didn't recite the pledge. Olinger said he didn't really have a good answer. "Because that's the way we've always done it around here" didn't seem acceptable even to himself, Olinger said.

Olinger asked Mayle to give him time to think it over. Within a couple of days, Mayle returned with a petition with 129 signatures in support of reciting the Pledge. The next day, he had collected 203 signatures in a school with 325 students.

"He would've had them all," Olinger said, "but at that time, he'd accomplished his mission."

Discussions on the Pledge and its meaning in eighth-grade Social Studies and American History classes preceded the unveiling of the new school practice.

"The staff doesn't really remember a time when it was said," Olinger said. "We're not sure why it wasn't, but we know why it is: because we need to. Right, Jerimiah?"

Since Feb. 2, a different student, selected randomly, has led the Pledge of Allegiance over the public address system from inside the office at the start of the school day, 7:39 a.m. Mayle had the honor the first day.

That same day, Olinger announced the new policy on the district's website and his school's Facebook page.

"It went up at 10 a.m. one morning," Olinger said, "and by 7 o'clock in the evening more than 80,000 people had viewed it. It was rolling at that point."

Mayle doesn't take the credit for himself.

"It wasn't just me," he said. "It was everyone at River View. I may have kickstarted it, but it took off from there."

Although Mayle said he doesn't personally know any veterans, he believes his family has a history of military service. Reciting the pledge honors Americans who served the country, he said.

"By saying it, I think it means we are thankful to our fallen soldiers and the ones who are still fighting for us today," he said.

A retired U.S. Air Force captain sent this coin to River View Junior High School eighth-grader Jerimiah Mayle, who led a successful drive to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day in school.

Wednesday, Olinger present Mayle with a new honor: two commemorative coins from retired U.S. Air Force Capt. Gary Seipel, of California, who had learned about the student's efforts from his sister, Cathy Ames, a retired River View teacher.

"I find your personal involvement to be patriotic, honorable, and worthy of recognition," Seipel wrote in a note accompanying the gift. "The two coins are merely a token of my appreciation for your demonstrated leadership."

jwilliams6@gannett.com

740-295-3417

Twitter: @JoeTribune