Editorial: Learn from the flag, don’t hide it

Over the past couple of weeks at University of California, Irvine, the U.S. flag has waved in much controversy.

On March 5, six members of the Associated Students legislative council passed a ban on the posting of any flags in the University’s student government suite, including the U.S. flag. The move followed debate erupting from the removal of a U.S. flag from a wall in the suite’s common area. According to USA Today, the members insisted that the flag has flown in times of “colonialism and imperialism,” and warned that students or citizens could interpret freedom of speech in an inclusive environment as hate speech. UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman called the ban, which a higher committee later vetoed, “outrageous and indefensible.”

Dr. Gillman is exactly right. Regardless of one’s views toward the history of the United States, or any other nation, flags are a reminder of where we came from, where we are and where we aim to go. Yes, the U.S. flag has indeed flown in times of “colonialism and imperialism.” But it has also been flown in times of peace, economic prosperity, civil rights progress and political enfranchisement. 

Making an environment “inclusive” does not mean accepting ignorance and censoring anything that one could possibly deem offensive. Citizens realize political, social and economic progress when they are honest and open about the flaws and successes of the past so that, tomorrow, we can experience fewer of the former and more of the latter.

The ban also infringes upon the rights of non-American students wishing to honor their heritage. Real inclusion does not mean banning the potentially offensive, but rather learning about the multitude of international influences that have shaped our country. The ban on flags of any nationality is a disgrace to real discourse and dialogue on diversity.

Now, one could argue that students should be free from governmental influence during their formative college years. Students should of course be able to think freely and openly about their world, but the placement of the U.S. flag in a publically-funded school. is not an obstacle to free thought, nor is it effective in curbing actual injustice and oppression.  

A truly inclusive academic and social environment should aim to promote, rather than censor, signs of national identity. Whether we look to the U.S. flag or any other, it’s time to stop running away from failures and triumphs of the past. Instead, let us discuss them in an environment where we, as college students and educated global citizens, can finally realize open and honest political discourse.