Banning Old Glory???

Old Glory, the Stars and Bars, and the Stars and Stripes, these are just a few of the names used when describing the American Flag. It has flown with pride across the globe at places such as Normandy, Iwo Jima and the Argonne Forrest, but now it is facing some of the greatest push it has ever found against it and it is within its own country! The University of California Irvine student government has recently banned the flying of the flag on campus in an absolutely appalling decision. This is an action that is a disgrace to our country and should never be allowed, especially at a public university.       

The USA Today discusses how the California Legislature is trying to pass a State Constitutional amendment preventing this but it is only getting mixed levels Democratic support in a predominantly blue state. This is certainly a valiant effort by the legislature but it does not seem it will likely pass. Thankfully, the governing body at the University has done what they could to overturn the ban so it has no real governance. The fear is that in the future a ban like this might hold up, which would be completely unacceptable. One potential future plan to combat an action such as this would be for the Federal or State government to cut funding to the university. If the university is unwilling to at least display the emblem of the organization that keeps them running they do not truly deserve that organizations support. I don’t know how likely this would be to occur on a state level but I certainly could see this happen at a federal level when congress delegates educational funding to the states. They could put a stipulation on the funding stating that when the state delegates funds a university unwilling to display the flag should not receive any funds. This would most likely be the most effective action because it would hold the university accountable for its decisions, but not necessarily preventing the action from occurring as that could be seen as a restriction of freedom.

            Ultimately, something must be done to prevent an action like this in the future. Whether it be banning something like this through legislation, or cutting funding our country cannot allow our tradition and armed forces represented by the flag to be disgraced on our own universities which we keep running with our taxes and funding. The idea that an action like this would ever be taken is extremely disappointing and should not be allowed at public institutions. 

http://college.usatoday.com/2015/03/10/california-lawmakers-want-law-to-prevent-students-from-banning-the-flag/