Boston University Pauses Pride Flag Removals After Backlash
Boston University president apologizes after enforcement of a “content-neutral” signage policy disproportionately impacted LGBTQ symbols.
Boston University’s president is apologizing for a now-rescinded policy that prohibited Pride flags and pro-LGBTQ signs in windows and other publicly visible spaces on campus.
In the weeks since spring break ended on March 15, students and staff have protested the removal of Pride flags and pro-LGBTQ signs, including those displayed in individual professors’ offices, to comply with the university’s policy opposing displays that are not “content-neutral,” as Metro Weekly previously reported.
The university has denied singling out symbols of LGBTQ identity.
BU’s free expression policies were revised in September 2024, around the time Melissa Gilliam became president. The university’s signage policy, which she has sought to enforce, prohibits “outward-facing” signs or symbols of identity, as well as political signage, and restricts students, faculty, and staff to displaying “signs, posters, or flags” only on “authorized bulletin boards” or on interior walls of their private offices.
Under BU’s broader “Events and Demonstrations” policy — of which the signage restrictions are a part — students, faculty, and staff found in violation can be referred to university officials or human resources and face disciplinary action.
Opponents of the policy circulated a petition that drew more than 2,000 signatures protesting the university’s enforcement of the ban on outward-facing signage.
In an email to students and staff on Monday, Gilliam said she is “temporarily pausing the removal of outward-facing signs.” She said she regretted that enforcement of the policy appeared to have disproportionately impacted signs and symbols related to LGBTQ identity and may have made some members of the LGBTQ community feel unwelcome.
“In the public conversation about Boston University’s time, place, and manner policies, that spotlight has fallen disproportionately on our LGBTQIA+ community, and I have heard how difficult and painful that has been. I am deeply sorry,” Gilliam wrote.
She noted a distinction between the university’s content-neutral policy and its “core values” and “respect for members of our community,” adding that the two should not be conflated.
“[W]e will continue having conversations with students, faculty, and staff,” she continued. “We will seek additional ways to support our community. And we will develop new opportunities to discuss the complex issues raised by the policy and its application. … I look forward to many thoughtful, productive discussions to come.”
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a free speech advocacy group that had criticized the university’s enforcement of the signage policy, celebrated Gilliam’s announcement as a win.
“On college campuses, flags often serve as a visible and accessible way for students and faculty to express their identities and beliefs,” FIRE Faculty Legal Defense Fund Fellow Graham Piro said in a statement. “Whether it’s a Pride flag, a Gadsden flag, or even just a Red Sox banner, the variety of flags in different office windows on campus at BU is a sign of a vibrant campus community with diverse viewpoints. We urge the university to continue to allow faculty and students to express themselves — no matter what flag they fly.”
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