Firstly, of course people should be able to feel comfortable in College. Secondly, if the hammer and sickle has simply become a symbol of King’s bien pensant romantic leftism, perhaps it’s time for a shakeup. Out of the current options, why not the Maggie Thatcher flag? Or perhaps better still, a life-size statue of that oh so beloved stateswoman. (Madame Tussauds, I’m sure, would lend us their waxen effigy)
M
Meera Patel
12 years ago
All King's members should feel comfortable in our home. There is no excuse for ignoring the clear distress of some of our fellow college members.
M
Markus Anderljung
12 years ago
The same arguments that would have swayed people to say that the flag should be taken down when we thought it was stalinist should apply now that we know it to represent Krushchev's regime.
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Pedro Spivakovsky-Gonzalez
12 years ago
Featured
Even if the flag in the bar is ever-so-slightly different from Stalin's flag, it still represents an oppressive totalitarian regime. There was still plenty of oppression in the Soviet Union for decades after the early 1950s. There was no free speech, people were arrested on trumped up charges, there was discrimination against Jews, etc. For these and many other reasons, even a post-Stalin Soviet flag is offensive to me and likely to a lot of others.
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Philipp Umhau
12 years ago
There are very fair reasons for people to feel hurt by this flag, and we should be caring enough to respect that.
A
Aidan Haslam
12 years ago
The soviet regime are responsible for the deaths of millions of people, ok the flag is more similar to that of Krushchev, but they're pretty DARN similar.
A
Anonymous
12 years ago
Regardless of the outcome, a referendum is the best way of ensuring that the most King's members have their say.
A
Anonymous
12 years ago
Featured
In 2010 the decision was put to a college-wide referendum, so precedent would suggest this is the most appropriate way of making the decision.
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Andrei Sofian
12 years ago
Keeping an USSR flag in the bar is the same thing as approving with the death of millions of people.
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Pete Tah
12 years ago
There are no real communists in this College. Communists don't pay £9k scholar bill for elite universities, they reprove elitism. How many King's "Communists" go to stupid formals? Is this communism?
All these wealthy ignorant kids pretending to be marxist, it's between pathetic and sadly funny.
And this flag IS NOT a communist flag, it is a USSR flag which is actually responsible for millions of innocent death.
Put a North Corea flag if you dare, it's exactly the same thing...
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Pat Dunachie
12 years ago
Featured
If it offends people, then it shouldn't be up in our public space. Let's let those who have been affected by the Communist regime decide whether it's offensive or not.
A
Alexander Hackmann
12 years ago
As not all students can attend meetings in college (many grad student who are not living in College accomodation have to commute over long distances) the result of the last meeting does not represent the opinion of the majority of King`s students. This is supported by the fact that only approx. 14% of the potential voter´s took part in the open meeting. Additionally, the eligibility of people in the room during the voting was not checked, allowing King´s student`s to bring friends which could vote in their favour. As the college bar is very busy on Saturdays and the KCSU committee does not know all KCGS and KCSU members, basically everyone who was there could have voted. An online referendum would increase the number of votes and due to Raven Log in ensure that only King´s member´s can vote.
L
Lily Tomson
12 years ago
Featured
There is a certain, painful irony about a protracted process to democratically replace this hurtful and highly offensive image with one aimed at better reflecting the active, democratic and honest way that we would like to see this college, followed abruptly by a spontaneous vote to keep the flag. Come on, King's: follow through.
A
Alice Kelly
12 years ago
Online voting systems get more people, like those who don't read their e-mails (cough me) and never know when the vote is. It'd be pretty easy to verify the cam e-mail addresses as well. Annulling the first vote on the grounds of what's essentially a technicality is understandable, but hopelessly misguided.
J
Jack Dhainaut
12 years ago
I thought King's was fundamentally about tolerance and respect. Please start proving me right.
O
Ollie Finn
12 years ago
If the flag offends people as it so obviously does, it has no place in a supposedly 'tolerant' community
D
David Mears
12 years ago
Let's be a tolerant and inclusive community that cares about each other's feelings.
H
Henry Morgan
12 years ago
Family over everything.
R
Rebekah Wolkind
12 years ago
People have ideologised themselves out of human emotion so much that they are clinging to the fact that this is a radical left wing flag and have lost all compassion, sensitivity and frankly common sense - when something offends and upsets our fellow students , we should listen and respond. I dont think people are actually lack human empathy - i think they are so swept up in the fear that the college is become too bland and political neutral (my own fear too) that they are forgetting to look at the actual situation at hand and are charging in with preset ideas of what is means to be radical or liberal. In fact clinging onto something traditional without allowing room for reassessment and change is pretty much the definition of conservatism (not that theres anything wrong with that). Anyway - I think the vote on saturday was a symptom of people getting swept up in political egoism and self-righteousness and that a lot of those people would have voted differently had they taken a step back and thought about it.
Firstly, of course people should be able to feel comfortable in College. Secondly, if the hammer and sickle has simply become a symbol of King’s bien pensant romantic leftism, perhaps it’s time for a shakeup. Out of the current options, why not the Maggie Thatcher flag? Or perhaps better still, a life-size statue of that oh so beloved stateswoman. (Madame Tussauds, I’m sure, would lend us their waxen effigy)
All King's members should feel comfortable in our home. There is no excuse for ignoring the clear distress of some of our fellow college members.
The same arguments that would have swayed people to say that the flag should be taken down when we thought it was stalinist should apply now that we know it to represent Krushchev's regime.
Even if the flag in the bar is ever-so-slightly different from Stalin's flag, it still represents an oppressive totalitarian regime. There was still plenty of oppression in the Soviet Union for decades after the early 1950s. There was no free speech, people were arrested on trumped up charges, there was discrimination against Jews, etc. For these and many other reasons, even a post-Stalin Soviet flag is offensive to me and likely to a lot of others.
There are very fair reasons for people to feel hurt by this flag, and we should be caring enough to respect that.
The soviet regime are responsible for the deaths of millions of people, ok the flag is more similar to that of Krushchev, but they're pretty DARN similar.
Regardless of the outcome, a referendum is the best way of ensuring that the most King's members have their say.
In 2010 the decision was put to a college-wide referendum, so precedent would suggest this is the most appropriate way of making the decision.
Keeping an USSR flag in the bar is the same thing as approving with the death of millions of people.
There are no real communists in this College. Communists don't pay £9k scholar bill for elite universities, they reprove elitism. How many King's "Communists" go to stupid formals? Is this communism? All these wealthy ignorant kids pretending to be marxist, it's between pathetic and sadly funny. And this flag IS NOT a communist flag, it is a USSR flag which is actually responsible for millions of innocent death. Put a North Corea flag if you dare, it's exactly the same thing...
If it offends people, then it shouldn't be up in our public space. Let's let those who have been affected by the Communist regime decide whether it's offensive or not.
As not all students can attend meetings in college (many grad student who are not living in College accomodation have to commute over long distances) the result of the last meeting does not represent the opinion of the majority of King`s students. This is supported by the fact that only approx. 14% of the potential voter´s took part in the open meeting. Additionally, the eligibility of people in the room during the voting was not checked, allowing King´s student`s to bring friends which could vote in their favour. As the college bar is very busy on Saturdays and the KCSU committee does not know all KCGS and KCSU members, basically everyone who was there could have voted. An online referendum would increase the number of votes and due to Raven Log in ensure that only King´s member´s can vote.
There is a certain, painful irony about a protracted process to democratically replace this hurtful and highly offensive image with one aimed at better reflecting the active, democratic and honest way that we would like to see this college, followed abruptly by a spontaneous vote to keep the flag. Come on, King's: follow through.
Online voting systems get more people, like those who don't read their e-mails (cough me) and never know when the vote is. It'd be pretty easy to verify the cam e-mail addresses as well. Annulling the first vote on the grounds of what's essentially a technicality is understandable, but hopelessly misguided.
I thought King's was fundamentally about tolerance and respect. Please start proving me right.
If the flag offends people as it so obviously does, it has no place in a supposedly 'tolerant' community
Let's be a tolerant and inclusive community that cares about each other's feelings.
Family over everything.
People have ideologised themselves out of human emotion so much that they are clinging to the fact that this is a radical left wing flag and have lost all compassion, sensitivity and frankly common sense - when something offends and upsets our fellow students , we should listen and respond. I dont think people are actually lack human empathy - i think they are so swept up in the fear that the college is become too bland and political neutral (my own fear too) that they are forgetting to look at the actual situation at hand and are charging in with preset ideas of what is means to be radical or liberal. In fact clinging onto something traditional without allowing room for reassessment and change is pretty much the definition of conservatism (not that theres anything wrong with that). Anyway - I think the vote on saturday was a symptom of people getting swept up in political egoism and self-righteousness and that a lot of those people would have voted differently had they taken a step back and thought about it.
Couldn't agree more