Alaskan university restores Mississippi flag to display

University lowers state flag because of confederate symbolism than re-raises it

Last week, the University of Alaska - Fairbanks (UAF) lowered the Mississippi state flag over the controversy that recently consumed the Confederate flag—which is still an official part of the flag.

On July 24, UAF chancellor Brian Rogers posted a statement on his official Facebook page that outlined why the Mississippi flag was taken down.

“I made the decision [to lower the flag] because I thought it was inappropriate for a campus that values diversity to display a flag that many see as a symbol of racism,” Rogers said.

The university wasn’t the only place in Alaska to remove the Magnolia State’s flag. The flag was taken down from a display in the state capital of Juneau by a local nonprofit. Chancellor Rogers followed suit shortly thereafter.

The university raised the flag after receiving criticism for censoring another state’s flag. Rogers reversed his decision but declared his dissatisfaction. 

"The tone and content of some of the responses I received this week have convinced me that it is in the best interest of UAF to return the Mississippi flag to the Circle of Flags, but I do so reluctantly," he wrote on Facebook.

 

A national discussion of Confederacy symbols, including the Confederate battle flag, began last month following the...

Posted by UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers on Friday, July 24, 2015

 

The flag, which according to Newsminer.com had flown at the Circle of Flags in Cornerstone Plaza since the early 1960s, was restored last Friday.

Marmian Grimes, the university’s public information officer, told Campus Reform that, “the chancellor made the decision to lower the flag initially, because UAF is a university that values diversity and the flag to many is a symbol of racism.”

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