American Flags Stolen on Florida Campus

[thedrifter]

American Flags Stolen on Florida Campus
By Robert B. Bluey
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
October 10, 2003

(CNSNews.com) - Campus police at the University of Central Florida are investigating the theft of nine American flags that were recently installed in classrooms.

The university is in the final stages of installing flags in 250 classrooms. But over the course of the last two weeks, some of the flags have disappeared. Campus police are treating the matter like any other vandalism case.

After the student government voted against allocating $3,000 for the flags, the student group Rebuilding On a Conservative Kornerstone (ROCK) appealed to citizens in the Orlando community for help. SunTrust Bank and the Florida Elks Association have lent their support.

"There will simply be more flags put up," said Heather Smith, president of ROCK. "One of the reasons why we allotted for extra flags in the classrooms was because we knew there would be works of some desperate anti-flag, anti-American individuals at our university, which is a shame."

The idea of installing flags in University of Central Florida classrooms has met resistance, particularly from students associated with the Progressive Council. The student government rejected the idea by a 20-13 vote on Aug. 28.

The university agreed to install the flags if the student group raised the money to purchase them. Following the student government vote, local radio host Shannon Burke heard about ROCK's difficulties and promoted the effort on his talk show.

Campus maintenance workers began mounting the flags in classrooms on Sept. 12 during their normal rounds.

"We were just about done putting them up, but over the past two weeks we've noticed that a few of them were stolen," university spokesman Tom Evelyn said. "We are up to nine that have been stolen. We have since replaced all of those flags."

Campus police have no suspects but the investigation is continuing, Evelyn said. He said if a student were found responsible, he or she would have a campus judicial hearing before the student conduct board and could also face possible criminal charges.

During the student government debate, some students expressed opposition to the flag, complaining that it was being used to advance a political cause. One student worried that the university would soon be asked to put pictures of President Bush in classrooms.

The Campus Leadership Program at the conservative Leadership Institute has lent its support to the students at the University of Central Florida and the University of Florida, where the idea was first hatched.

"It's really a small group of anti-American leftists who don't want to see these flags up," said Jim Eltringham, spokesman for the Campus Leadership Program. "They don't like what it represents and they will stop at nothing to bring them down."

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.as...20031010c.html


Sempers,

Roger

[Jerry D]

Thank You Shannon Burke,SunTrust Bank and the Florida Elks Association and the Kids of ROCK for installing flags in 250 classrooms. God Bless them one and all.....