[B]URLINGTON — Hundreds of students clad in black gathered below three flags flying Monday near the student center at the University of Vermont — an American flag, a Vermont flag and a homemade substitute for a Black Lives Matter flag that had been hoisted Thursday.
The original went missing Sunday morning. Its raising set off a firestorm last week that would earn headlines in state and national media outlets and was followed by an act that police are investigating as a crime.
The third flagpole on the eastern side of the student center routinely hosts banners that represent a cause. According to UVM Student Government Association officials, students can request that certain flags temporarily fly in that spot.
Often, the banners carry a political message — whether a rainbow flag for gay pride, a Tibetan flag or a South Sudanese flag recognizing the young country’s foundation.
Student Association President Jason Maulucci, who sponsored the bid to hoist the Black Lives Matter flag for five days, said the decision was made in solidarity with that movement after the shooting deaths of two black men by police in Oklahoma and North Carolina earlier this month.
It was also to show support for the students of color in the predominantly white student body, Maulucci said.
According to the fall 2016 enrollment census on the university’s website, just 168 of its 13,105 students identify as black or African-American. A total of 1,495 students identify themselves as people of color.
Maulucci described the display as an action of support for members of the university community and beyond.
“It’s like if you’re for something, then that means you must be vehemently opposed to something else, and it just doesn’t have to be that way,” he said. “Just because you’re pro-Black Lives Matter doesn’t mean you’re anti-cop, and just because you’re pro-cop doesn’t mean you’re a racist.”
While the flag has prompted outcry in internet comment sections, the reception among the university population has largely been positive, Maulucci said.
“The bottom line is we did this to show support and solidarity for UVM students, and I think overwhelmingly UVM students have expressed their gratitude for it,” Maulucci said.
The flying of the flag attracted significant attention in itself — from local media outlets to national and international ones, including The Washington Post, Fox News and the British newspaper the Daily Mail.
Then the flag went missing.
Tim Bilodeau, deputy chief of the UVM police, confirmed the flag was reported stolen Sunday at 8:30 a.m.
“It’s under investigation,” he said Monday.
Police are looking for information from anyone who may have been out between the hours of 3:30 and 8:30 a.m., he said.
The flagpole doesn’t appear to have been damaged, he said. Police do not have information about whether the thief was a member of the university community.
The police are treating it as a theft. Bilodeau said it appears to be petit larceny, a misdemeanor.
According to student body leadership, after the flag was stolen, a member of the university staff sewed a new one, which was put up later Sunday.
Student body Vice President Tyler Davis said the theft of the flag “fuels the fire of why we put it up there in the first place.”
“What they didn’t realize is it’s just going to make more people show up. It’s just going to bring our community together more,” Davis said.
Hours before the flag was set to be taken down, hundreds of students rallied at the flagpole Monday afternoon, wearing black in solidarity with the movement.
Greer Sargeant, a sophomore, joined the event to be part of “the symbol of unity.”
“It almost brought tears to my eyes,” Sargeant said. When she saw it, she immediately stopped and took a picture to post to her Instagram account.
“It was really touching to see it,” Sargeant said.
She said the display of solidarity with Black Lives Matter is especially significant at UVM, where the student body is not very diverse.
“It sends a message that we are welcoming to individuals of different races and identities that might not be conveyed when looking at the student population that attends this university,” Sargeant said.
Kyle Freundlich, a sophomore, watched the gathering grow from the sidelines with a handful of others. Holding a black poster with a navy blue strip across the middle in support of law enforcement, Freundlich said he came to the event to “make sure both sides are represented here.”
He said he views the student government association’s decision to fly the flag as “very irresponsible.”
“Your school is taking a side on a matter, no matter what you believe,” he said.
Freundlich said he wanted to support law enforcement at the event. He said he thinks the Black Lives Matter movement “preaches toward” antagonism with police.
“The police officers around this nation, they dedicate their whole lives to protecting us, and people don’t, you know, they don’t realize that,” he said.
