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UC Irvine Student Leaders Veto Ban on American Flag

UC Irvine student leaders on Saturday vetoed a resolution that banned the American flag from being displayed in the lobby of the student government offices, according to a post on the school’s website.

The post said the “misguided legislation” passed by undergraduate members of the legislative council earlier this week was not endorsed by campus leadership or by the University of California.

“The American flag is still proudly flying throughout our campus and will continue to do so,” said the post, signed off by the executive cabinet of the Associated Students - University of California.

Students voted to ban the American flag because it is a symbol of "colonialism and imperialism."

The ASUCI Legislative Council voted six to four, with two abstentions, Tuesday to pass the resolution to remove all flags in order to create a "more inclusive" environment.

The resolution, which was written by student Matthew Guevara, also said "the American flag is commonly flown in government public service locations, military related entities, at homes, in foreign lands where the US government has a presence," and its "symbolism has negative and positive aspects that are interpreted differently by individuals." 

In addition, the measure claimed that "freedom of speech, in a space that aims to be as inclusive as possible can be interpreted as hate speech."

Despite the measure passing, ASUCI President Reza Zomorrodian was against the move.

"I stand firmly against this piece of legislation," Zomorrodian said, "As chair of the Executive Cabinet, we will be having a conversation about this piece of legislation and deciding what course of action the cabinet will take collectively."

UC Irvine has yet to respond to a request for a comment on the matter.

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