Beaverton, OR (KPTV) -- Students at Five Oaks Middle School who put up banners with messages that promote tolerance of gay students are upset after the school's principal took them down.

The signs featured the school's mascot, a falcon, in rainbow colors along with the phrase, "Born gay, follow the ray. Born straight, refuse to hate."

A parent who wished to remain anonymous said he emailed the principal to complain about the signs, which he felt were inappropriate.

The parent said the school isn't open to other beliefs and ways of life, such as celebrating Christmas, so this sign shouldn't be allowed either.

Mina Cash-Valdez is part of the school's gay-straight alliance and helped put up the signs.

Cash-Valdez said she doesn't think being gay should be compared to celebrating a holiday, and she's upset the signs were taken down.

"If you have a problem with us trying to spread the message to be yourself, then you need to transfer your kid to another school," Cash-Valdez said. "I'm sorry, but we're all about being equal and being supportive of each other, and that's, like, showing that we don't support people like that if we take [the signs] down."

A spokeswoman for the Beaverton School District said the principal took down the signs because the group that put them up did so without getting permission and going through the proper channels of review.

She added that safety and tolerance of all students is the district's top priority.