School officials in Connecticut were criticized after forcibly removing two patriotic flags while seemingly allowing other students to hang Pride flags, reports revealed.
In a report released by Daily Caller, two students reportedly hung their “Don’t Tread On Me” flag and American flag with a blue, red, and green line, representing law enforcement, firefighters, and federal agents outside their dorm room window when a school official forcibly removed them, leaving other flags remained at place.
Allegedly, the school’s administration under the supervision of the self-described Director of Housing Operations removed the flags, prompting the students to protest outside the dorm, the video footage showed.
The news was released to the public after two American college students filmed the incident and leaked it to a Twitter account Libs of Tiktok, who posted the video on Twitter.
.@TrinityCollege forcibly removed a student’s “don’t tread on me” American Flag and a red, blue, and green line flag. Meanwhile pride flags are allowed to stay hanging. pic.twitter.com/AG892oaRyv
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 31, 2022
In the video, a disgruntled woman can be seen climbing a ladder to remove the flags from outside a dorm room at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, while telling the students that they had already been warned about the flags.
“Who are you touching our flags? You have no right to do this,” one student who claimed ownership of the flags, lamented.
“You were directed to take it down. The dean’s office has requested — put your phone away,” an alleged school official responded.
“Absolutely not. I have every right to record and you know that. This is America. We have the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, freedom of expression. I don’t know why you’re taking our flags down,” the students said.
Students also lamented as other flags in the vicinity remained on display while theirs were being removed while the alleged administrator ordered them to visit the dean’s office.
“Why are you targeting us specifically,” one of the students asked.
“[Other students are] being asked, but ours are being ripped off,” another student asserted.
According to Kristen Cole, a senior director of media relations at Trinity College, the dean was enforcing the Student Handbook.
“The Trinity College Student Handbook states that objects are not allowed to be placed outside of residence hall windows for safety reasons,” Cole explained.
The handbook states that “no objects of any type (including liquid), may be thrown, dropped, pushed out of, placed outside of, or allowed to fall from any residential building window. Students found responsible for such actions will face residential censure,” the Daily Caller revealed.
However, she also admitted that the rules have been enforced unevenly.
“This event has highlighted the need for more consistent enforcement of handbook rules, and the college is working with the student body to create awareness and compliance. The dean of student life is addressing the issue with the entire student body to ensure compliance with the handbook and has reiterated the rule to the student body in a communication this week. The dean’s office will directly work with students for more consistent enforcement,” she said.
