Protesters want the U.S. flag flying over Hampshire College campus again after it was removed this month following the election.
Hundreds of protesters at Hampshire College were seen waving American flags on Sunday, demanding that the school bring back the flag, the Boston Globe noted.
According to the Daily Mail, protesters chanted “U.S.A.” during what they called a “peaceful demonstration of freedom.”
“Our flag is a symbol of our country. Our clearest message is that we ask others to respect the flag as we do,” said Gamalier Rosa, an Army veteran who served one tour in Iraq in 2010 and helped organize the protest.
“They took down my flag, they have a right to that,” Veteran Jerry Maguire told WWLP-TV. “I’m here to defend their right to do that but I want them to understand how bad that hurts me.”
Rosa said removing the flag was an act of disrespect toward those who have made sacrifices for the country.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno was in support of the protest, saying the school’s decision to remove the flag was disrespectful to veterans and members of the military, Daily Mail noted.
Sarno added that a decision like this would have been handled “very, very differently” if this was a college in another country.
However, Jonathan Lash, president of Hampshire College, said the school had taken the flag down because there were students on the campus who viewed the flag as “a symbol of the mistreatment of marginalized groups in the U.S.,” especially people of color, the Globe noted.
Lash said the removal of the flag was supposed to start a conversation regarding the “environment of escalating hate-based violence” following the election, but it wasn’t a political act, the Globe noted.
“In the current environment of escalating hate-based violence, we made the decision to fly Hampshire’s U.S. flag at half-staff for a time while the community delved deeper into the meaning of the flag and its presence on our campus,” Lash wrote in a statement, Daily Mail noted.
“This was meant as an expression of grief over the violent deaths being suffered in this country and globally, including the many U.S. service members who have lost their lives,” he added.
“Some have perceived the action of lowering the flag as a commentary on the result of the presidential election — this, unequivocally, was not our intent,” Lash wrote.
Lash has met with some local veteran officials and Rosa since the protests and said he will be meeting with more veterans in the weeks to come.
“I’m very regretful that a group of people with deep and sincere beliefs were hurt,” Lash said, according to the Globe.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.