A Confederate flag in a dorm at Bryn Mawr College caused so much unrest the administration even told professors to go easy on student’s tardiness or late work.
The incident started after two students, who shared a room in an on-campus dorm, put up a Confederate flag in the hallway and taped a ‘Mason-Dixon line’ nearby.
After pressure from upset students, they moved the flag to their rooms, but it could still be seen from the windows by those passing by.
Many on campus, though, thought the display was racist.
“I shouldn’t have to walk past a Confederate flag on the way to my Black American Sociological Perspectives class, where we literally watch videos and learn about how that flag represents hatred and the lynching of people that look like me,”Allegra Tomassa Massaro, president of the NAACP, Tri-College Chapter said. “That should not be part of my college experience.”
Other students agreed. Soon signs reading “It’s hate not heritage,” “Ignorance is not an Excuse,” and “Intolerance is not Welcome Here” were soon found in other dorm windows to protest the flag.
After a verse tense community meeting, the two seniors – one from Texas and the other from Georgia – apologized.
“Our intention was never to cause the pain the community is currently suffering,” Rachel Hagerand and Vanessa Felso told those that lived in their hall.”We apologize for hanging an object seen as a symbol of hate for many and for the subsequent divide and suffering of the Bryn Mawr community.”
Another student from the south said that while she disagrees with what the duo did, but coming from the south she recognizes the Confederate flag can be perceived as something to remind them of home.
“It was definitely a learning curve for me to recognize that it is very, very negative to a lot of people and it is something that is used today as a very racist symbol,” said Sarah Awad, who is from Tennessee. “The biggest problem is that the people who hung it were not receptive to those who were telling them ‘that’s not a good symbol.’ ”
Another student said she was glad that the community came together to solve the problem.
“If you really do your research on the flag, there is no way to say it is anything other than a symbol of hate,” said Lauren Buckheit, who is also from Tennessee. ”I was impressed that so much of the community was willing to come together.”
Photo Credit: Aaron Conaway (Confederate Flag in Georgia)
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