Alyssa Parker and a few fellow college cheerleaders — all of them African American — sat inside the rec center a couple of weeks ago on the campus of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.

The rest of their cheer squad, the football team and a stadium full of fans were gathered outside for a home game Saturday, Oct. 21. "The Star-Spangled Banner” played and cued the crowd to remove their hats and stand at attention with hands on hearts.

As Parker sat there, away from public view, she didn’t like the feeling in the pit of her stomach that accompanied the distant strains of the national anthem.

The sophomore from Des Moines and founder of her campus’ new Black Student Union was among the cheerleaders and football players who knelt during the anthem at BVU’s Sept. 30 homecoming.

This simple act of protest against racial injustice in recent weeks swept the nation and incited controversy. So Parker sat inside during the next home game, Oct. 21.

But from now on, Parker and her fellow students must adhere to official college policy requiring those on the field to "stand for the national anthem as a unified team."

Student athletes and cheerleaders "will be allowed to kneel before the anthem if they choose."

After much agonizing over the decision, Parker this week quit the cheer squad. She doesn't think peaceful protest should be confined to a time slot. She wanted to stick to her convictions.

“(Fighting) social injustice, standing up for what I believe in and using my voice for others who no longer have one: These are beliefs I hold to my core,” Parker wrote in a Facebook post announcing her move. “They are what make me Alyssa. I couldn't bring myself to give that up.”

I wrote about Parker last month as a thoughtful young Iowan entangled in the national anthem furor. Now the American Civil Liberties Union has even reached out to her as an ally.

What quarterback Colin Kaepernick began last year in the NFL has since spread to colleges and high schools.

BVU approached its student protesters with compassion and constructive dialog. President Joshua Merchant even invited them to dinner.

The college held a public forum in which the students, faculty and police were able to discuss issues with respect and civility. Parker impressed me that night with her poise and confidence.

As a criminal justice major and psychology minor, what she’s grappling with now likely will occupy no small portion of her professional life.

Other cheerleaders and athletes who knelt have since chosen to stand as required. Many of them enrolled in BVU specifically to join a team.

There's no one right answer for everybody.

But Parker weeks ago worried that the intended message of anthem-kneeling has been obscured in a din of misdirected outrage.

Merchant tends to agree.

“Everybody’s talking about the action,” he said. “Nobody’s talking about the meaning. To me, I think that’s what continually lost around the country.”

The college president, just several months into his new job at BVU, is putting resources behind a push to organize more campus events to tackle "what really is the issue: Social justice and racial inequities and really focusing on creating a larger conversation."

This controversy has sparked more than the usual number of conversations in my daily life. I try to explain that my dad served in Vietnam. That I respect the flag.

I take care not to let the Stars and Stripes touch the ground. I know that the flag should be well lit at night and, once it's ragged, carefully burned rather than left flapping in tatters.

All that does matter.

But letting Americans of conviction kneel during the anthem in silent protest is not a knock against the military. If anything, it’s a celebration of the freedom that our men and women in uniform fight to preserve.

(Merchant said he heard from veterans both for and against anthem-kneeling.)

But as a freedom-loving journalist, what would offend and worry (and scare) me more is when absolutely nobody is allowed to kneel at a game.

Sports helped set the table for this debate by enshrining patriotic ceremony at the start of games. Team owners wanted to create a new public square, not just another venue or workplace. All the better to win over the hearts and minds of Americans.

That means dealing with the consequences.

Parker plans to attend Saturday’s home game in Storm Lake, where she’ll cheer from the stands to support her teammates on the field.

If you were able to glance in her direction during the anthem, you know what you would see.

And I hope that would spark thoughtful conversation, not blind outrage.

Kyle Munson can be reached at 515-284-8124 or kmunson@dmreg.com. See more of his columns and video at DesMoinesRegister.com/KyleMunson. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@KyleMunson).