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Pride Center to remove flags after ‘violation of policy’ Chris Salvemini
Asst. News Editor
The flags at the pride center all support the LGBTQ community but must be removed due to fire code. Alex Phillips • The Daily Beacon
Volume 132 Issue 21
After the Pride Center was vandalized by having its rainbow flag torn, the University of Tennessee is suggesting the center remove the flags entirely for something else. A university policy says that anything not provided by facilities services may be placed on any building or on campus grounds. It is unclear at this time whether the orange banner that is hung across the center violates the policy, but the flags that were hung in remembrance of the people who died in the Orlando shooting are in violation. “… In my role as a liaison working with them to come up with a creative solution to honor the spirits of the flag. It’s been a tough week for the Pride Center, it’s been a tough year. Though that probably wasn’t the most ideal time to start that conversation, the conversation did need to get started,” Danny Glassmann, Assistant Dean of Students and liaison for the Pride Center, said. Last week Glassmann presented the Pride Ambassadors with the policy to notify them that the flags were in violation. The notice was meant to encourage the center to start thinking about a different way to represent what the flags represent while still complying with the policy. The notice was met with harsh backlash on social media. The Pride Center began a flag check by updating its followers on Twitter that the flags remained waving throughout the day. The university released a response saying that they regretted the timing and will review the policy to ensure it is enforced consistently across campus. While demonstrations usually feature
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signs placed on campus grounds, and it is common for students to hang signs and flags from their dorm windows, they are usually temporary. Technically in violation of the policy, the policy is not enforced as harshly since the signs usually come down by the end of the day. The flags have become a part of the pride center since the Orlando shooting four months ago. “It’s (the violation notice) giving the message to students that administration would rather us go hide and stop being loud and out about it,” Chesnea Skeen, a Pride Ambassador and a junior in geography, said. Despite the backlash and the timing, Glassmann saw the policy as an opportunity to make something better and more permanent than flags. “When you see flags, or signs, or banners or those signs that are put out for events on pedestrian walkway, those are often more for a temporary idea and I think that the conversation needs to shift to this ‘How are we doing signage for the Pride Center that’s more permanent?’” Glassmann said. While it is unclear what may replace the flags, Glassmann hopes that it can be more permanent while also preserving the flag’s spirit. The vandalism and the university’s response comes after a yearlong controversy over diversity at UT. After a post online detailing what gender-neutral pronouns are and how to use them gained national media attention, the university took down the post. UT also removed a post about inclusive holiday celebrations after it started getting media attention. As of Thursday, the flags continue to wave outside the pride center.
Friday, September 16, 2016