Professor appalled by Rebel Flag in tailgating
I was stunned when I opened Wednesday’s paper and saw, under the headline “Your Guide to Tailgating,” a color photograph of a sea of revelers carousing under the banner of American racism, a Confederate flag.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but it was still there, and the caption claimed that this occurred on CMU’s campus. How is this possible? Are public displays of racism normal and accepted at these events?
Since I know also that the vast majority of CMU’s students of all races would not want to have someone wave a Confederate flag over their revels, I have to wonder why this particular flag was tolerated.
What was it in the mind of the person who unfurled it that day in April that made him think the crowd would approve?
Because of what I know about the students at CMU, I must conclude that the public display of this flag was an aberration, the act of one or two fellows they all hoped would just go away soon.
Daniel Patterson Department of English
