I feel for Hampshire College, I really do. Or maybe I should say I feel for the students at Hampshire College who had no part in disrespecting our nation's symbol of freedom and for the men and women who risk their lives for our privilege of freedom.
As a student who attends Waynesburg University, a private university of a size comparable to that of Hampshire College, I cannot imagine how much of a nightmare it must be to have gained all of the negative coverage that this college has in the past few weeks. Not only did the initial burning of the flag cause enough of an issue, but the actions that followed haven't appeared to have made the situation any better.
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If you aren't aware of the recent happenings in Amherst, Massachusetts, they went a little something like this:
- After Donald Trump officially won the presidency, Hampshire College students lowered an American flag on campus to half-staff to make a political statement.
- The institution said they supported the students' reasoning behind the action and wanted to foster more discussion about the flag's meaning.
- Nov. 10: The flag was burned by some students.
- Nov. 11 (Veterans Day): The flag was replaced, but flown at full staff.
- Nov. 12: It was decided that the flag would be lowered to half-staff again.
- The flag was finally raised to full staff.
Yike.
I can't say that I know exactly how I would've reacted as the college president in this situation, but I like to think that I would've apologized for the students' behavior and created some kind of program or event that allowed students to engage in peaceful, respectful and mature discussion of their political views instead of initially supporting the students' action of lowering the flag to half-staff. There are times when lowering the flag is appropriate, but right after the election was not the time. While that was wrong, burning the flag was even worse. Where is the maturity? Where is the respect? When I was a little kid, I had a small American flag in my room. When I would put it away in my closet, I would lean it against the wall and make sure it didn't touch the ground because I was taught not to disrespect our nation's flag. Yes, I think it's good for college students to have different political beliefs and to be passionate about them, but when those beliefs lead to blatant disrespect, that is something that I cannot support.
Donald Trump is going to be the President of the United States, and you may not agree with anything or everything he stands for. I myself do not condone every single thing that Donald Trump has said or done. If Hillary Clinton had been elected though, I would not have been able to support many of the things she planned on implementing. But would I have burned the flag just because I'm not a fan of her and the election didn't turn out the way that I wanted?
The answer is no.
I realize that life isn't fair. I accept that our country will never be perfect because it is run by imperfect humans. I believe that I live in the greatest country in the world though, and I am grateful to those who have made it possible for me to say that. No matter the outcome of the election, burning our country's flag is inexcusable and does not solve any of the issues that our country may have.
So I feel for you, students at Hampshire College, who understand that freedom is not free, that we are not entitled and that the American flag represents a heck of a lot more than supporting whoever is currently running the country. I hope that all of America will come to these realizations as well.
