UCI Paper: U.S. Flag Tied to ‘Histories of Exclusion and Violence’

The official newspaper of the University of California Irvine (UCI), New University, has confirmed reporting by Breitbart News last weekend that a vote by the Associated Students (ASUCI) to remove the American flag from the lobby of their building was to avoid “triggering” a negative emotional response among illegal immigrants.

In the article, the co-author of the American flag ban legislation, Khaalidah Sidney, says that the flag served as a reminder for her “Dreamer” friends of their constant battle to obtain citizenship.

Among reasons included in the legislation as to why the American flag should not have be erected in the lobby of the ASUCI building was that it was flown during “instances of colonialism and imperialism.”

The legislation has since been vetoed.

New University writes that “for a handful of students, the flag’s symbolism is inextricable from and irreconcilable with histories of exclusion and violence committed on behalf of the United States.”

The bill’s main author, UCI student Matthew Guevara, is reportedly known as “Matthew Che” around campus, after the legendary Argentinian revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, who helped the communists take Cuba.

The UCI “Che” reportedly said that while he “wholeheartedly” agrees with the fact that the flag stands for freedom and is “highly regarded by the military and veterans,” he placed emphasis on the fact that the flag was in a shared “space that has never had any flag, has never had any ideology associated with it,” and that the presence of the flag in the common space reportedly alienated students who did not necessarily agree with what it represents.

The resolution to ban Old Glory (R50-70) was met with tremendous friction and anger from many students on campus, who saw it as an anti-American move. Post-veto the six students, who had voted for passage have reportedly been met with tremendous backlash from their peers. According to New University, derogatory comments and threats of physical violence have made their way into their email inboxes.

“Yeah it doesn’t reflect the broader student body, but the broader student body didn’t come to us,” co-author Sidney reportedly said, explaining the initial vote. “These individuals did and as elected officials we’re supposed to represent those bodies that did approach us.”

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