Ok, so. Rebuilding on a Conservative Kornerstone (ROCK) is a heavily republican group on our campus. They want $10,000 from SGA to put a flag in every classroom. President Hitt has said OK to the plan and offered UCF staff to put up the flags, once they have been purchased. The Future ran an article on it, as did the Orlando Sentinal a few days later. The Sentinal's article is much better...oh, the quotes to be found.

Here are the fun bits.

"'It's the least we can do,' said Heather Smith, the 21-year old president of ROCK. 'We're just trying to bring a symbol of freedom into the classroom.'"
Symbol? Freedom has no symbol. Are we fascist now? The symbol of freedom is the collection of people IN the classroom all freely speaking. We need no symbol. Do you need a picture of yourself to know who you are?

"'Anyone who says they don't want the flag in the classroom runs the risk of being anti-American,' said UCF ROCK member Jered Beaird, 21, a junior nursing student from Vero Beach. 'You don't want to be seen as antipatriotic.'"
Yep! You'd better like that symbol! Otherwise, you're an athiest commie!

"Craig Friend,an associate professor of history at UCF, said he thinks the flag idea is good, although it likely will chill criticism of American policy by foreign students."
Will someone please explain to me how a COLLEGE PROFESSOR with TENURE thinks that a flag is a good idea even when he believes it is going to limit free speech?

I don't know. Maybe I'm just annoyed with this because I know there are many more ways to spend $10,000 on the student population of UCF that would serve the students and faculty better. not all classrooms have overhead displays. The computers in the Nicholson School of Communication labs are old and falling apart.

When a flag can display a presentation to the class or assist me in writing a paper, maybe then I'll care.

Until then, I don't need a symbol reminding me of where I am.