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May 30, 2006

Administration

Flags removed from Nedderman

Spaniolo: cooling period necessary

Story by: A.J. Eaton

The Shorthorn staff

The Shorthorn: Rebekah Workman

The flags that hung in Nedderman Hall have been removed following the protest. President James Spaniolo will assemble a committee to discuss alternatives

Students and community members on different sides of the campus flag issue agree that President James Spaniolo’s solution to the heated debate -— removing all the flags from Nedderman Hall’s Hall of Flags — is not a solution at all.

The Hall of Flags, a tradition at the university for 17 years, was stripped of its 123 flags May 10. Spaniolo cited the recent controversies behind the Vietnamese flags for his decision in his official statement, and also wrote that “a cooling-off period is needed for thoughtful reflection.”

The debate surrounding the Vietnamese flags began as a result of a decision by the International Student Organization to not allow the former flag of South Vietnam, adopted by some Vietnamese-Americans as a heritage flag, to be flown during International Week events, as the flag is not recognized by the United Nations and South Vietnam is no longer a country.

During the week, the organization decreed that the Vietnamese Student Association could either fly no flag or fly the current flag of Vietnam. The university took no action at the time. The controversy came to a head April 30, when 3,000 protestors from the Arlington community and around the country marched on campus and asked for the removal of the Vietnamese flag from Nedderman Hall.

Tom Ha, Vietnamese-American Community of Greater Tarrant County chairman, organized the protest march and said the decision to remove the flags is not a long-term solution to an issue his group feels so passionately about.

“We were not included in the decision or talks leading to his [Spaniolo’s] decision at all. The administration refused to talk to us then and now,” he said. “President Spaniolo’s solution to the issue did not reflect the will of the international students, Vietnamese-American students or the community.”

Leading up to the ultimate decision to remove the flags from Nedderman Hall, 17 letters were written by representatives and senators in the state legislature to Spaniolo pressuring him to remove the red flag of Vietnam and threatening the detachment of the university from an education bond that would provide $70 million for a new engineering building.

Engineering sophomore Jesse Dearing established www.savethehallofflags.org, a Web site and petition dedicated to bringing the flags back to Nedderman Hall, including the two Vietnamese flags, so that everyone can have equal representation.

“The Hall of Flags has always been a reflection of the spirit of this university,” he said. “Now that the flags are gone, the spirit behind UTA has been damaged.”

President Spaniolo said he will establish a committee in the fall to further discuss the issue of the flags in Nedderman Hall; however, some students feel the committee may just be a farce.

Biology senior Quynhanh Ton, a member of the association, said she didn’t think the university addressed the situation properly.

“Spaniolo could have handled it easily by simply talking to us and the Vietnamese community,” she said. “I’m fearful that the suggested committee may just be the administration not listening to anyone but themselves again.”