akm122

williamsdad- lee, the freshman blogger, is half asian/ half caucasian! he is from North Carolina--hence why he has the flag.

I'm a current w&l student and I know that Lee isn't the only w&l student with the confederate flag in his dorm room. At w&l, the confederate flag is certainly not percieved as a symbol of racism. Like beautyistruth said, it is kind of a "cool southern display of pride." Anyone who is that offended by the sheer sight of the confederate flag, might want to reconsider w&l as a college choice, as they will likely be seeing the flag or references to the confederates frequently. People really love Robert E. Lee here.

W&L is an extremely welcoming community and the university is working extremely hard to increase diversity and acceptance. I am a minority from the north and I have yet to meet anyone who has made me feel discriminated against.

general77

You have to dig pretty hard to get to that photo in the site. My guess would be that someone found some irony in the picture with an Asian student stnading in front of the alternative NC flag, and a US Marine Corps flag. W&L is a very sophisticated place with people from all over the U.S. and around the world.

Lee and the Civil War are parts of the place, but more from the sense of community the Honor System he founded creates, not to mention the fact that he took the job in the first place. One of his first actions was to go to the north and recruit students to the (then) small struggling school. In general (no pun) there is no allegience to a battle long lost. That nonsense was done there in the '60's for the most part.

res ipsa

I am in general agreement with most of what FLAVADAD and Pizzagirl have to say. It is 1964 and life in Virginia has changed much since then. People are either ignorant or kidding themselves, however, if they think that the display of the Confederate battle emblem is simply a sign of pride in southern heritage. The flag was flown in a war for the preservation of slavery and has subsequently been displayed in defiance of efforts to advance to lives of those who suffered from slavery. It is reasonable to expect an African American to take offense to the display of the battle emblem and sometimes it is necessary to respect the concerns of those offended even if we disagree with their reasoning or do not empathize with their concerns. To the OP's concern, I wouldn't keep my daughter from attending W&L if the battle emblem were only in Lee's dorm room but if its display is widespread or institutionally condoned [if it stays on the website, I would consider this to be the case], I would have to have second thoughts. It's more important for Pizzagirl to feel welcome than it is to hang onto a piece of cloth that makes you feel proud. You can honor Robert E. Lee and be proud without it.

rom828

Our family visited W&L yesterday and the only place we spotted the Confederate Flag was on a very unique piece of sculpture representing the many facets of Robert E Lee. While we were there we happened to also meet the artist who is a professor originally from Minnesota. No large banners that we could see claiming the South will rise again...anywhere. Beautiful campus, wonderful people, happy students. We met people from all over the country.

alum08

rom-Just out of curiosity, to which sculpture are you referring? Was it the one in Lee Chapel? I am an alum and I honestly can't remember a piece of art that fits your description. I am thrilled to finally see someone that despite some initial concerns actually visited campus and enjoyed their FIRSTHAND experience. Something I also did.

rom828

We were in Wilson Hall the new Performing Arts Center. It was a fun sculpture, I think kinda new. We all loved W&L; our S will definitely be applying next year. I too would hate any kind of false impression of a school to prevent our S or any student from visiting or applying.

Hanna

"Well, your reaction (typical Yankee) is what a lot of them are looking for."

True. I just hope that none of these flag-displaying individuals, who deliberately try to offend others for their own amusement, claim to be gentlemen. General Lee would be disgusted.

mandoman

I've always gotten a laugh out of the "Northern Aggression" thing, Lincoln held off to have the confederates fire the first shot of the war at Fort Sumter so that it would show the south's aggression. I guess some southerners just can't get over the fact they lost. I certainly am surprised at all the political correctness people are worried about and yet hanging a flag that opposed American ideals is not an issue...god I love this country..