University Of California American Flag Ban: Threat Prompts Cancellation Of Flag Ban Debate On Irvine Campus

Earlier this year, the Inquisitr reported on the student government of the University of California Irvine (UCI) voting to ban the American flag from campus. Despite the vote, the ban will not happen because the Executive Board of the Associated Students of Concordia University Irvine (ASCUI) vetoed it. Still, the possibility that any student government could vote in favor of banning the flag of this county did not sit well with Republicans, and now GOP representatives are taking action to punish any public institution of learning banning the American flag by removing their funding.

Currently, the debacle over the American flag ban at UCI is still ongoing. A meeting was supposed to happen to discuss the situation, but it had to be cancelled due to a threat of violence.

According to Yahoo!, the student council scheduled a meeting on a bill to ban national flags (not just the American flag) from the common area of student government offices on Tuesday. The view in mind for the meeting is that national flags bare a range of cultural significance that could be misinterpreted in a negative fashion. But as mentioned earlier, it was cancelled as a “viable threat of violence” was received among officials. It should be noted that the threat itself was not specific.

Howard Gillman, the UCI Chancellor, made a statement pertaining to the flag ban and their reasons to overturn it as a resolution.

“Regardless of your opinion on the display of the American flag, we must be united in protecting the people who make this university a premier institution of higher learning.”

Their resolution also states that national flags of any country, including the United States, had been “flown in instances of colonialism and imperialism.” They also “serve as symbols of patriotism or weapons of nationalism.” Finally, there was a statement that seems to regulate one of the freedoms guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.

“Freedom of speech, in a space that aims to be as inclusive as possible, can be interpreted as hate speech.”

In a follow-up by FOX News, it reports that UCI campus police have increased their security. They are also asking students to report any suspicious activity that may or may not be associated to the situation. The flag ban argument at UCI is still ongoing and as of now, the veto remains in effect until further notice. The Inquisitr will report on the latest news on this situation when it becomes available.

[Featured Image via Los Angeles Times/TNS]