Change.org - Pride Flag Burning

A month of Pride and celebration has turned sour for the Central Washington University community. A CWU student recently stole the Pride flag from the university campus center—burning it live on his Snapchat story with the caption “good riddance”. Petition starter, Megan, believes that this is a heinous act and demands that the university hold the perpetrator accountable. Join the campaign to urge CWU to take proper actions against this hate crime. Consequences For On Campus Hate Crime 3,158 have signed Megan Verrall’s petition. Let’s get to 5,000!

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PHOTO IS A STOCK IMAGE Copy-paste of letter to superintendent: I am sure that you have noticed that recently the Pride flag in the SURC was stolen. And while I do not have direct screenshots, I have been told on multiple instances that this flag was stolen and burned by freshman/sophomore standing student (Redacted). He broadcasted both him stealing the flag and burning the flag with the caption “good riddance” onto his snapchat story and I am sure that if you were to reach out to the broader CWU community, you could find someone confirming this and/or screenshots of this occurrence. Free speech while important does not excuse this behavior. At best, this is destruction of Central Washington University property and at worst is a blatant hate crime. I believe that everyone should have the right to express their beliefs without consequences but the second that they attack a minority group in such a violent way, I do believe that it is the responsibility of Central Washington to provide consequences for these actions. As Central has been deemed, “one of the best schools for LGBTQ+ students” I truly urge you to stick up for the LGBTQ+ students who have felt attacked and degraded by (Redacted) actions. Burning of the Pride flag has led to court convictions such as arson in the third degree as well as harassment in the third degree due to it being a hate crime. While I am not asking for this to be pursued in a court of law, I am asking that there are academic consequences for this action, be it removal of scholarship money, suspension, or expulsion. This is a heinous act and there must be consequences for his actions if this school wants to promote a safe environment for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

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