The Perilous Fight:
Protesting the Desecration of the American Flag
Jeszenia McGuire
Elms College
On November 10th, 2016 Hampshire College, a small, private, and grossly expensive liberal arts institution in Amherst, Massachusetts flew their flag at half-staff following the victory of President-Elect Donald J. Trump. Sometime in the early morning hours of the following day, a group of unknown students set fire to the fundamental symbol of our country’s freedom. After this development, Hampshire College took down all flags on campus. When I first heard about Hampshire College 's decision to not fly the American flag, I was at a loss for words, and I was not the only one; veterans at the Springfield Veteran’s Association went to work preparing a demonstration, with the hopes of getting the college to raise the flag again. …show more content…
It read “J, we need to change our plans for tomorrow.” We had planned the following day, we were going to a new café in town, then we were going to bake Christmas cookies, and watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Instead, on Saturday, November 26th, we had the pleasure to take part in a peaceful demonstration on the Hampshire College campus, surrounded by veterans in a sea of red, white, and blue.
The President of the College believes that removing the flag will allow for open dialogue among all parties regarding social injustices in our country including sexism, classism, and racism. Although I concede that such social injustices exist in our culture, and need to be addressed, this discussion can and should be disjointed from the discussion of why we fly the American flag. After taking part in the demonstration I found some words for President Jonathan Lash and his
Protesting the Desecration of the American Flag
Jeszenia McGuire
Elms College
On November 10th, 2016 Hampshire College, a small, private, and grossly expensive liberal arts institution in Amherst, Massachusetts flew their flag at half-staff following the victory of President-Elect Donald J. Trump. Sometime in the early morning hours of the following day, a group of unknown students set fire to the fundamental symbol of our country’s freedom. After this development, Hampshire College took down all flags on campus. When I first heard about Hampshire College 's decision to not fly the American flag, I was at a loss for words, and I was not the only one; veterans at the Springfield Veteran’s Association went to work preparing a demonstration, with the hopes of getting the college to raise the flag again. …show more content…
It read “J, we need to change our plans for tomorrow.” We had planned the following day, we were going to a new café in town, then we were going to bake Christmas cookies, and watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Instead, on Saturday, November 26th, we had the pleasure to take part in a peaceful demonstration on the Hampshire College campus, surrounded by veterans in a sea of red, white, and blue.
The President of the College believes that removing the flag will allow for open dialogue among all parties regarding social injustices in our country including sexism, classism, and racism. Although I concede that such social injustices exist in our culture, and need to be addressed, this discussion can and should be disjointed from the discussion of why we fly the American flag. After taking part in the demonstration I found some words for President Jonathan Lash and his