Table of Contents
VICTORY: O say, can you see? Nicki Minaj flag in Harvard dorm window flies on.
Harvard University undergraduates were reportedly told to remove this display from their suite window over concerns it was “offensive.” They refused.
Harvard University students are refusing to acquiesce to a school employee’s request to remove a Nicki Minaj flag from their dorm window.
Earlier this month, four Harvard students received an email from a Harvard employee asking them to take down a flag portraying Nicki Minaj from their common room window in Mather House, a campus residence hall, on the grounds that it might be found “offensive.”
Through the perilous fight, the display — depicting Minaj in a bikini, saluting in front of the broad stripes and bright stars of the American flag — continues gallantly streaming. Over the weekend, it was clearly visible to passersby, just inside the entrance of the courtyard.
While FIREhas not confirmed whether the particular window displaying the flag belongs to the same students involved in our last report, it appears to be the same flag displayed in a window in the same residential house.
On Sept. 10, FIREwrote a letter to Mather House administrators, asking for clarification on the email and that they rescind the request to the students to take the flag down. But as of the dawn’s early light today, Harvard has failed to respond to ֭’s letter.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave?
It does.
We hope Harvard will continue to let this flag fly and will take no issue with other student window displays in the future.
And FIREconsiders it a victory for all Harvard students — Barbz and non-Barbz alike. The Nicki Minaj flag is just one example of expressive window displays, which have long been a traditional avenue for college students in the land of the free and the home of the brave to communicate matters of social, political, and personal importance.
We hope Harvard will continue to let this flag fly and will take no issue with other student window displays in the future.
FIRE defends the rights of students and faculty members — no matter their views — at public and private universities and colleges in the United States. If your rights are in jeopardy, get in touch with us: thefire.org/alarm.
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali will not submit
Podcast
Ayaan Hirsi Ali grew up in a culture of conformity. She was beaten and mutilated. She was told who she must marry. Eventually, she rebelled. "You don't speak up at first," she told us. "First you leave and you find a place of safety. It's...
FIREstatement on congressional leaders smuggling unconstitutional Antisemitism Awareness Act into a must-pass defense bill
149 days and counting! Will the White House grant a posthumous pardon in the D.M. Bennett Case? — First Amendment News 447
