U. Texas-Arlington: COLUMN: Silence isn't golden.

(From University Wire)

Byline: David Callahan

So, President Spaniolo has decided that the flags are gone for good. How convenient ... and gutless.

The Hall of Flags was something that many of us enjoyed and took great pride in. It was a wonderful representation of this university's diversity. It was never meant to be a political statement. Unfortunately, some people chose to see it as just that.

I understand the sentiment that the Vietnamese-American community has toward the current government in place in Vietnam; however, politicizing this display went way beyond reason. I was thrilled when their flag was added to the display, but this was not enough to satisfy them. They insisted that the recognized flag of Vietnam be removed. It seems like they are trying to say that their rights supersede those of others here at the University of Texas-Arlington.

Apparently, many of them wrote their representatives about this issue, which is absolutely their right; however, the reactions of those representatives were absurd. They insisted that the flag should come down or that they would withhold funding for a new engineering building. This is nothing more than blackmail by our elected state officials, which doesn't surprise me, coming from career politicians.

So, we have an activist community group who views their rights somehow superior to those of students who wish to be ...