Two years ago, a quiet, easygoing Cal High student stood up and explained to his sociology class why he chose to sit during the national anthem.

“He presented a very thoughtful, articulate explanation,” sociology teacher Eghosa Obaiza said of her former student. “It was awesome that his classmates were comfortable enough to ask, and that he was comfortable enough to explain.”

Fast forward, and now San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been making national headlines for his decision to kneel during the anthem prior to each game.

“Kaep” initially sat on the bench prior to an Aug. 27 preseason game, immediately grabbing national attention.

He chose to sit in response to the recent increase in police brutality incidents and overall oppression of African Americans. He has since changed his protest to kneeling.

So all of this begs the question: What if a Cal High student decided to protest in a similar fashion today?

This is a question many high schools have had to answer these past few weeks.

Kaepernick’s actions have sparked a movement that has spread from the Bay Area across the  nation to all levels of sports and society.

For the past few games, almost every player on San Francisco’s Mission High School varsity football team knelt during the national anthem.

In one game, a player stood with his fist raised, signifying black power just as two African American athletes famously did during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Members of the Oakland Unified School District Honor Band took a knee while playing the national anthem prior to an Oakland A’s game on Sept. 20.

This issue hasn’t been exclusive to sports.

At the Prophets of Rage concert on Sept. 13, each band member took the stage wearing a Kaepernick jersey and knelt for the anthem, eliciting a mixed reaction from fans at the Shoreline Amphitheater.

Much like the fans at the concert, Cal students and staff remain divided over the issue.

When asked how the varsity football team would react if a teammate took a knee during the national anthem, starting senior lineman Blaine Nye responded quite strongly.

“We’d probably kick their ass,” said Nye. “Our team is very patriotic.”

His teammate senior Cameron Norfleet doesn’t think a player would take a knee on Cal’s football team.

“While I support Kaepernick’s message, Coach (Eric) Billeci has an unwritten rule to not do anything that could take away from the team,” Norfleet said.

The First Amendment grants students the right to express themselves and peacefully protest, even on campus.

It is a form of protected expression and protest if a student or staff member chooses to sit or kneel during the national anthem.

Obaiza, who coached Cal’s women’s basketball team until 2012, believes in this right.

“The government doesn’t require patriotism, it has to be earned,” Obaiza said. “These freedoms have always been what our country has prided itself on. If one of my students chooses to sit, as long as they can articulate their concerns, I don’t have a problem with it.”

Sociology teacher Troy Bristol supports Kaepernick’s actions “100 percent.”

“Challenging authority itself is patriotic,” Bristol said. “Our country was built off of democracy and the voice of the people. To express your voice is exactly what you’re supposed to do.”

Some students seem to have a very tolerant attitude toward the movement.

“There wouldn’t be an outrage or anything, it would just kind of force the issue,” said junior Gabby Edmond, a shooting guard on the varsity women’s basketball team. “Our coaches would definitely hold a meeting about it just to address the issue. There wouldn’t be any trouble.”

Many coaches and staff, both at the professional and college level, have weighed in on the issue as well. This includes Clemson  University head football coach Dabo Swinney, former 49ers and current University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, and current 49ers head coach Chip Kelly.

Kaepernick has pledged to donate $1 million to different charities that help those affected by police brutality and racial inequality.

But Cal freshman football coach Dwight Pratt disagrees with Kaepernick’s methods and would not allow his players to kneel.

“If one of my students did it, I would let that person do it for that particular game, and then we would have a big discussion afterwards,” Pratt said. “We would come up with a solution because it wouldn’t be allowed. I just, I don’t like it.

“When you’re on a team, you should be focused on the team, and not have any outside distractions from that,” Pratt continued. “If [Kaepernick] wants to go be an individual and get individual attention, then he should play an individual sport. But because it’s a team thing, I don’t like how the attention is being taken away from the team and put on him.”

The biggest problem Pratt has with Kaepernick’s actions are the infamous socks the quarterback once wore at practice.

“I think it’s important to know that his immaturity was clearly shown when he wore those socks depicting cops as pigs,” Pratt said. “That’s an immature statement, it really is. The same cops that are taking him to and from sporting events, the same cops that are protecting him…that you’re calling when your house is being robbed.”

Like Pratt, a lot of people believe Kaep could get his message across in a different way.

Attendance secretary PeggyConklin has three sons, two of whom are active in the Army and a third who is an Army veteran, disagree with his protest to kneel during the national anthem.

“My sons and I all agree with his methods of a non-violent protest, they set a good example for those who would rather riot,” Conklin said. “We also all agree on his right to speak. My sons fight for that right.

“However, my sons wear that flag on their shoulder going into battle. Caskets of fallen heroes are draped in that flag. I wonder if he’d be able to kneel like that in front of one of those coffins.”

For Bristol, it all ultimately comes down to what patriotism really means.

“I think each person should decide for themselves their own definition of patriotism,” Bristol said. “Forced patriotism is not patriotic.”