Posted on November 27, 2015

Mass. School Offers Counseling for ‘Victims’ of Confederate Flag Sticker

Philip Devoe, Daily Caller, November 26, 2015

After a student filed a “bias report” accusing a student with a Confederate flag sticker on his laptop of racism, Framingham State University officials offered offended students counseling.

“We recognize that bias incidents are upsetting for the entire campus community, but especially for the target(s) and witness(es) of these incidents,” wrote Sean Huddleston, the Massachusetts-based school’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, in a campus-wide email published in part by FSU campus newspaper The Gatepost. “It is strongly suggested that anyone impacted by a bias incident find someone to speak with.”

In his email, Huddleston assured students “symbols such as these are not condoned by Framingham State University” but that the school wouldn’t ban the flag, as it is protected by First Amendment free speech rights.

“We absolutely believe everyone is due and should be able to exercise their constitutional rights,” Huddleston said in the email. “We want to foster a community and an environment where everyone feels safe and welcome. If we have a student or faculty or staff that feels unsafe based on something that was said or they witnessed, we have an obligation to inform the campus that has occurred.”

Huddleston concluded by confirming “a productive discussion” between the complainant and the student who owned the laptop “was achieved” and that the Bias Protocol & Response Team “will meet to determine any measures that may be needed to respond to this incident,” reports The Gatepost.

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