‘Threat of Violence’ Prompts UC Irvine to Cancel Meeting Over Flag Ban

A “viable threat of violence” related to a plan to ban flags — including the U.S. one — in a student government building on the UC Irvine campus prompted the university to cancel a meeting Tuesday.

The student government’s Legislative Council meeting was canceled, a decision supported by student leaders, the university announced.

The University of California Irvine Police Department increased security and its presence on campus in response to the threat, which was not specific, according to the university’s announcement.

The campus came under nationwide scrutiny after a six-member undergraduate student government council body voted Thursday to remove all U.S. and other flags from the lobby area of student government offices. The resolution was vetoed Saturday by the five-member executive cabinet overseeing the student government.

The possibility of overriding the veto was the subject of Tuesday’s Legislative Council agenda, the university said.

“This misguided legislation was not endorsed or supported in any way by the campus leadership, the University of California, or the broader student body,” the university said in announcing the veto on Saturday. “The American flag is still proudly flying throughout our campus and will continue to do so.”

The resolution included references to the flags’ use in colonial and imperial contexts, and stated that the flag’s many meanings could run counter to the Associated Students’ goal of a “culturally inclusive space.” It banned use of all flags in the lobby space.

“Flags not only serve as symbols of patriotism or weapons for nationalism, but also construct cultural mythologies and narratives that in turn charge nationalistic sentiments,” part of the 586-word resolution read.

In announcing the cancellation of Tuesday’s meeting, UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman said that the safety of the campus and its students, faculty and staff was the highest concern.

“We cannot allow our community to be put at risk,” Gillman said. Regardless of your opinion on the display of the American flag, we must be united in protecting the people who make this university a premier institution of higher learning.”

Flag-bearing activists had arrived on campus to protest the meeting, a Los Angeles Times reported tweeted.

Activists have arrived to rally at UC irvine in support of the flag. http://t.co/mYmw62yw6G—

Emily Foxhall (@emfoxhall) March 10, 2015

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