Widely recognized as an emblem of acceptance, rainbow flags have not been universally welcomed on campus.
Last Spring, Blue Devils United began the Pride Flag Visibility Campaign, which provides rainbow pride flags to students to display in their dormitory windows. Since the campaign began, however, students have reported that some pride flags have been torn down or stolen.
BDU President Ollie Wilson, a junior, estimated that five or six flags have gone missing since the beginning of the school year. He added that other flags around campus have not been affected.
“Sometimes, it was just sort of random... but often it was systematic, like someone would put a flag up and it would get taken down, and this would go on for like two or three nights,” said Wilson, who had his own flag ripped down in Craven Quadrangle earlier this Fall. “We think it’s important... to [show] that this isn’t tolerated because in our view, it’s like any other personal identity.”
Wilson said the flag campaign is an integral part of BDU’s mission.
“The point [of the campaign] is... to raise awareness about the [Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community—not to impose or anything—just to say that, ‘We’re here, Duke is an accepting campus,’’ he said, also noting that the BDU blog has received comments from prospective and incoming students about how the flags made them feel more welcome at the University.
Though Wilson said the problem is most persistent on West Campus, flags have also been torn down on East Campus.
Freshman Jacob Tobia, who lives in Bassett Dormitory, put a pride flag in the window of his dorm’s third-floor common room. Tobia said the flag was taken down approximately 12 hours after he put it up, adding that the flag was taken down many times, at one point only 40 minutes after he had installed it.
“I assumed that... at a university like Duke that... preaches diversity and acceptance of all... that kind of problem would [never] happen,” Tobia said. “If [the flag] had said something about... ‘Black is beautiful,’ and someone took that down, can you imagine what people would have said about the person who took that down? But somehow because I’m gay it’s OK to take that flag down.”
BDU is currently establishing procedures to address the problem. This year, every flag that goes out is numbered and catalogued, Wilson said, adding that students should e-mail BDU when a flag disappears to have the flag replaced.
BDU has encouraged students to contact resident assistants and residence coordinators about flag disappearances, but the Duke University Police Department has not been contacted about the issue, Wilson said.
Although Duke does have an anti-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity, Tobia said he felt that sometimes this policy is not enforced.
“It is not clear to many of the employees of the University how exactly to use that,” he added. “In my opinion... the University should [take] administrative action against the individuals who are taking down flags.... That is discrimination.”
Vice President of Student Affairs Larry Moneta said he believes the University takes its commitment to protection and advocacy of sexual orientation and gender identity seriously.
“Sadly,” he wrote in an e-mail, “that doesn’t mean that ignorance still doesn’t exist.”
Both Moneta and Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek said if University officials had information about the identity of individuals responsible for flags being stolen, those individuals would be held accountable.
Senior Chris Perry, the editor of BDU’s blog and the head of the flag campaign, wrote in an e-mail that despite what has recently happened, he has seen positive changes since his freshman year.
“It’s encouraging, actually, that we’re clearly angering unaccepting students,” he said. “As much of a non-issue these flags should be, we’re hitting a nerve and pushing the envelope I guess, and as an LGBT organization, I feel like that means we’re doing our job right.”
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