PLYMOUTH, N.H. – For the past four semesters, the flags of the United States of America, the State of New Hampshire and Plymouth State College have flown in front of memorial hall, standing silent watch over the day-to-day activities of the college.
Soon, they could have some company.
A proposal submitted by professors Horst Freyhofer (Social Sciences), Gary McCool (Library), Scott Meyer (Social Sciences), Michael Fischler (Education), Ray Perkins (Philosophy), and Leo Sandy (Education), calls for the flag of the United Nations to join the current triumvirate of bunting.
Part of the proposal reads as follows: “The are three flags that now fly at PSC. They include a PSC flag which represents our college, a state flag that represents our state, and a national flag which represents our country. But there is no flag representing our membership in the global community… We believe that this strong commitment to world citizenship should be matched by a conspicuous symbol such as the United Nations flag.”
In support of his position, Professor Leo Sandy cites a variety of official Plymouth State literature such as the academic mission, the college’s values as listed in the course catalog, the rationale for the general perspective requirement, and the General Education task force proposal. Said Sandy, “We have a need for global effectiveness. If we have it in our literature, it’s only appropriate for us to show it on our campus.”
Before the flags were erected in the wake of the September 11th tragedy, discussions took place among members of the faculty and staff as to which flags should be flown. Other representations of the global community such as the “earth flag” were discussed. Ultimately, however, the decision was made to not include that representation since it is not an “official” flag
On April 13, professors Sandy and McCool presented their proposal to the Plymouth State College Student Senate. After a brief debate, the senate unanimously approved the following motion. “That the United Nations Flag fly on its own flagpole adjacent to the current flags on campus to camps to exemplify PSC’s stated responsibility to the world community.” Their initial proposal called for the United Nations flag to be flown at a height equal to or higher than the American flag, however, as McCool explained, “the Student Senate in their wisdom-and I do believe it was wisdom-chose to remove that portion of the motion, pointing out the potential breach of flag protocol.”
Afterwards, Professor Sandy expressed how vital it was that the proposal had the support of Student Senate because, “The will of the students is the most important; They are the ones paying the bills.”
Although recent controversies have strained relations between the United States and the United Nations, McCool wished to make it clear that this movement is operating independent of the current political climate. “As I told the student senate, supporting this motion does not reflect the military actions in Iraq and the Middle East by having this kind of symbol, you aren’t saying that the UN is without flaws, but it’s the only game in town for international communication.”
Across the country, other universities and colleges have dealt with this issue in a variety of ways.
In October 2001, Tufts University in Boston raised the flag over the academic quad to commemorate UN day. At the time, Professor Alan Henrikson told The Tufts Daily, “What we are doing at Tufts can be exemplary, inspiring other colleges and universities, in the US and around the world, to do the same. This is our ambition.”
Although Tufts and Professor Henrikson may have believed they were setting a “new trend,” in actuality many American colleges and universities have flown the flag of the United Nations for many years, including Macalester College in Minnesota which has displayed the UN’s banner since its founding in 1945.
While some campuses are rushing to embrace the flag of the United Nations, others are feeling the backlash of recent political tension.
At the University of Southern Indiana, where the UN flag has flown since 1969, approximately eighty students took part in a protest demanding its removal. While speaking to The Shield, the student newspaper of the University of Southern Indiana, one of the speakers at the rally, Larry Young conveyed his concerns about the UN, “The UN coalition of mostly dysfunctional countries are atheistic, socialistic parasites whose goal is domination.”
McCool stated, “While the current administration chose to abuse the UN, that does not mean that the rest of us wish to dismiss the UN’s relevance.”
The proposal will next be submitted for approval to the Faculty in May and to the PAT’s in June. Ultimately, however President Wharton will make the final decision on this matter.
As of press time, President Wharton had no comment on the issue.