UTA forced to take down flags in Nedderman Hall

UTA used to hang the flags of all the nations which they had students from in Nedderman Hall. It was, quite honstly, a glorious and moving display of the unity of the students. In the years I attended UTA (and hopefully when I go back) I never saw any friction among the many ethnic groups at UTA. Everybody loved the hall of flags...until now. In case it's not clear enough, each flag merely represented the fact that we have (or had) a student from that country. So when UTA unveiled the flag of Vietnam, it was simply because we had students from Vietnam. It was in no way a political statement. However, some of the Vietnamese-American students were incensed about it, saying "It's a sign of promoting communism. ... It's a sign of oppression."

But that's not what the flag means in this context. They certainly don't have to worry about some black-pajamaed communists showing up and bayoneting them here. This is about showing support for our international community of students, something to be rightfully proud of.

According to UTA President Jim Spaniolo:

"It's a way to symbolize that we have students from all over the world. We're embracing diversity."

But some people just don't see it that way.

"I think it is an insult to the Vietnamese Americans who live here," said Mr. Vo, comparing it to the flag the Germans displayed while persecuting Jewish people.

At this point, they seem to have won the battle because a Representative from Houston was evidently willing to make this a political battle and block funding for the school simply because of the presence of that flag.

But Rep. Toby Goodman, R-Arlington, said he and other lawmakers spoke with Spaniolo recently and urged him to remove the flag.

"It was anticipated that an amendment would be offered that would strip funding for UTA as long as that flag flew," Goodman said, referring to a tuition revenue bond bill that public universities depend on to fund new construction.

UT-Arlington is hoping for funding for an engineering research building.

Rep. Hubert Vo, D-Houston, a Vietnamese-American, supplied the Star-Telegram with letters that he and other lawmakers sent to UT-Arlington officials last month urging them to take down the flag.

This is just really sad. But the worst part is that because one group won't be tolerant of another, UTA has been forced to make the only right decision, which is to pull down all the flags in the hall. The display was not a political one, but if people are going to force it to be a political issue, UTA can only avoid further difficulties by not having a display at all. For my money, this sets a regrettable precedent of intolerance for others. Unfortunately, the members of one side of the issue are concerned solely with their own thoughts and feelings, to a ridiculous extent in some cases.

Tom Ha, an insurance agent and a leader of the anti-flag campaign, said he's glad the flag has come down. But Ha said Spaniolo's statement did not do enough to assuage the grief of Vietnamese offended by the flag.

"There was not consolation to the students and the community members who have been going through this turmoil.

There should be some steps taken so the communication is a little bit more humanistic," Ha said.

Ha helped organize an April 30 protest against the flag with about 3,000 demonstrators at UT-Arlington.

I can understand people having a problem with the government of Vietnam, but they don't seem to understand what they've done by making this a political issue, and they don't seem to care about the feelings of the other students there.

Giao Nguyen, a graduate student from Vietnam, said he wanted to see the yellow-starred flag of his home country fly with all the others.

"It's really not fair to all the international students," said Nguyen, 26, who is studying for his doctorate in finance.

"We didn't mind their flag being up," he added, referring to the yellow flag with three red stripes that represented the government America supported during the Vietnam War.

There is a movement to bring the hall of flags back. Who knows if it will be successful, although if there's any justice in the world, it will be.

Durai Sundaramoorthi, 27, an industrial engineering doctoral student, e-mailed Spaniolo asking him to put the flags back up.

“When we see those flags we feel really happy,” said Sundaramoorthi, who is from India. “It’s really beautiful even for citizens of the U.S. It’s one of the great traditions of the university.”

That's pretty much it right there.