Controversy erupts over national flag ban at UC Irvine

Controversy over national flag ban at UC Irvine

(Image credit: Stephen Chernin/Getty Images)

published 11 March 2015

The past week at the University of California, Irvine has been a tense one on campus. It all started when the Associated Students of University of California, Irvine (ASUCI) passed a resolution banning national flags from an "inclusive" space on campus. The flags, according to the legislation, "serve as symbols of patriotism or weapons for nationalism, but also construct cultural mythologies and narratives that in turn charge nationalistic sentiments," and should therefore be removed.

After a strong media backlash and threats of violence, the Executive Board of the ASUCI voted to veto the flag-banning legislation. The administration then issued a statement "swiftly, strongly, and publicly" denouncing the six students who introduced the initial legislation. "These six students were acting in an official capacity, as members of a small sub-set of our student government known as Legislative Council, and it was outrageous and indefensible that they would question the appropriateness of displaying the American flag on this great campus," UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman said.

Meanwhile, some are upset with the university's response, and over 1,200 students and professors have signed an online petition supporting the six students who proposed the ban.