Features

SAN JOSE — Community college district trustees have rejected a plan that would have required a U.S. flag in each classroom on the two campuses they oversee. 

There was a heated debate over whether to mandate American flags in West Valley-Mission Community College District classrooms, but in the end trustees voted 5-1 last Thursday against the patriotic proposal. 

“I went in there thinking I could vote for this. I like the flag,” said Nancy Rucker, president of the Board of Trustees. “But all I was hearing were objections. That was my concern.” 

Some who attended the debate said requiring an American flag in each classroom would dilute the meaning of Old Glory, while others claimed it would create a divisive atmosphere on the Santa Clara County campuses. 

A voluntary plan to put flags into classrooms at Mission College and West Valley College was adopted by the trustees. Private donors will need to raise the money to purchase the flags, and it will be up to each instructor whether or not to fly the flag during his or her instructional periods. 

Don Wolfe was the trustee who led the effort to make the American flag mandatory at the two campuses, something he felt was important in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

One West Valley College student, Nicole Miller, died aboard the hijacked United Airlines plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. 

“It would be a reminder to our students, and an opportunity for them to more fully understand and appreciate what liberty is all about,” Wolfe said.