University lowers state flag with battle emblem
901-333-2019
Mississippi State University is joining most of the state’s other institutions of higher learning in lowering Mississippi’s controversial state flag, at least on many areas of the Starkville campus.
The flag, opposed by many because of its inclusion of the Confederate battle emblem, has quietly come down after MSU President Mark Keenum approved requests from the deans of the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, according to The Reflector, the campus newspaper. Larger American flags will replace the state flags.
Most other state universities have removed the flag in an effort to distance themselves from potentially divisive racial symbols of the past. The University of Mississippi in Oxford, and at its Jackson medical center, and the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg stopped flying it last year. The state’s three historically black universities have stopped flying it as well, along with Mississippi University for Women this summer. That leaves only Delta State University flying the flag among the state’s eight public universities.
MSU spokesman Sid Salter, in confirming Keenum approved the requests, spoke in strong terms Aug. 30 about the university’s desire to promote a flag change.
“Since 2001, Mississippi State University’s Faculty Senate, MSU’s Student Association governing bodies and MSU’s administration have supported changing Mississippi’s state flag,” Salter said. “Despite that institutional support, the voters of Mississippi did not approve the 2001 referendum effort to change the state flag.”
Salter said the university renewed its push with state leaders to change the flag after the 2015 Charleston, South Carolina, church shootings, but added: “The Mississippi Legislature has not yet chosen to address the issue of the state flag.”
Numerous legislative efforts to change the flag have failed, and Gov. Phil Bryant has supported standing by the will of voters in the 2001 referendum that overwhelmingly supported retaining the current flag. It is the only remaining official state flag that includes the Confederate battle emblem. Bryant said Tuesday state universities that removed the flag are teaching disrespect for state law by taking it down.
Against that backdrop of working for change, Salter said the university has now acted under the rules of its leadership structure.
“Under our process of shared governance, the leadership in our individual colleges have flexibility in making decisions about operations under their jurisdiction,” Salter said. “In keeping with that process, requests were made recently to replace the Mississippi flag in several locations with a larger American flag to better conform to our very large American flag which flies over the Drill Field (MSU’s primary campus green space), and Dr. Keenum approved those requests.”
The state flag will remain, however, in the Perry Cafeteria on campus. The cafeteria has a 50-flag display of state flags as well as flags of foreign countries from which MSU students come.
Keenum, although he personally has expressed support for replacing the state flag, indicated earlier he did not plan to follow the lead of other universities in removing it. In a statement following the Charleston shootings, Kennum said “lawful displays” of the flag would continue even though its symbolism wasn’t directly related to the university.