As senior David Fair played his trumpet Monday to an audience of at least 100, a handful of students stood off to the side, waiting for what would happen next.
Fair was followed by several speakers - students and University Provost Jamshed Bharucha - and then a graduate student a capella group began to sing. Before the United Nations flag was raised, the small group on the side departed.
The group was led by senior Jordana Starr, the Editor-at-Large of The Primary Source - the University's journal for conservative thought. This event was the realization of a behind-the-scenes e-mail fight that had lasted three days.
Monday was United Nations Day, celebrated every Oct. 24 on the anniversary of the founding of the international institution in San Francisco in 1945. For the fifth consecutive year, Fletcher and Arts and Sciences students organized a flag-raising ceremony, among other events, to mark the occasion.
The flag-raising was originally planned for the flagpole next to Goddard Chapel on the academic quad. The American flag was to be lowered, and the United Nations flag would be raised in its place.
But before the flag-raising could even happen, controversy erupted.
Late Friday night, Starr, on behalf of a group of students, e-mailed University President Lawrence Bacow, Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, Coordinator of Alumni Relations Leah Brady and Fletcher Professor Alan Henrikson.
In the e-mail, Starr quoted the National Flag Code: "No person shall display the flag of the United Nations or any other national or international flag equal, above, or in a position of superior prominence or honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United States at any place within the United States or any Territory or possession thereof."
In addition, she said this was the first year she was aware that the U.N. flag replaced the American flag during this ceremony.
Starr requested, in accordance with the code, that the University keep the American flag above the United Nations flag during the flag-raising. Starr and the students who sent the e-mail planned a protest at the ceremony if the United Nations flag was placed above the American flag. According to Starr, 36 students from different groups supported her e-mail.
Henrikson - who guided the student United Nations Day Organizing Committee - responded to Starr's e-mail Saturday, defending the celebration of United Nations Day but not specifically mentioning the flag code. He later called this recent outbreak of controversy "astonishing."
Sunday evening, Bharucha informed both Starr and Henrikson that the location of the flag-raising ceremony had been changed to the flagpoles in front of Ginn Library. The library patio has six flagpoles, and the American flag could remain to the right of the pole where the U.N. flag was raised - the position of most respect.
Bharucha said he made the decision to move the event after consulting with legal counsel and the State Department Office of Protocol.
"As a university we obey the law," he said. "The U.S. Flag Code is very clear."
Rather than flying the United Nations flag below the American flag, Bharucha chose to give each flag its own pole.
"The U.N. is best honored if we honor it in its own right," he said.
The patio in front of the library, completed over the summer, was the best location for the ceremony, Bharucha said. "U.N. Day is the perfect inaugural event for the patio, and it solves the one flagpole problem," he said.
"We are very happy with this," Starr said of the venue change that cancelled the need for a protest.
But Bharucha's decision did not satisfy all the organizers or participants. After the decision to move the ceremony was announced, at least seven Fletcher students e-mailed administrators to protest.
"The U.N. flag is about ideals," Fletcher student Teitur Torkelsson, a member of the organizing committee, said. "We feel that the administration, on a very high level, is giving into pressure from people who represent a small fraction of the Tufts community."
The dissatisfaction among students led to an e-mail from the organizing committee to Bacow, Bharucha, Fletcher School Dean Stephen Bosworth, and Chair of the Board of Trustees James Stern.
In the e-mail, the organizers said they expected "full transparency" of University decisions and that the administration risked setting a "dangerous precedent" by responding to threatened protests by a small group.
Torkelsson said organizers saw the University's priority as avoiding conflict at a public event that would attract attention. "We would expect the administration to be professional and firm," he said. He also complained that organizers were told of the change less than 24 hours before the event.
Another committee member, Fletcher student Cornelia Schneider, said Starr's objections were misplaced. "Nobody in the committee remotely intends to dishonor the United States," she said.
Schneider also said the change minimized the importance of the ceremony to the entire University by moving it to the Fletcher School. "We wanted this to be an all-Tufts event," she said. "But now it seems like it's not."
Fletcher student Mike Spiros said Bharucha's use of the flag code was wrong.
"The U.S. government will, under special circumstances, fly the flag of other countries and organizations as a gesture of respect and solidarity," Spiros, a former State Department spokesperson, said. After the bombings in London last July, Spiros said, U.S. federal buildings flew the flag of Great Britain in place of the American flag.
Bharucha acknowledged the flag code is not always strictly obeyed but said the State Department example did not apply to the University's situation. "That decision was made by the State Department under different circumstances," he said. "We shouldn't be taking those liberties ourselves."
The legal advice Bharucha received following Starr's e-mail encouraged him to strictly follow the flag code, he said, "notwithstanding exceptions in practice that may have occurred in the past."
Bharucha said he did not want the Tufts community to be divided over legal technicalities, and yet he also wanted to foster free expression. "It's important that one take advantage of an opportunity to take the high moral ground and go beyond hairsplitting," he said.
On Monday evening, Bharucha sent an e-mail explaining his decision to all those who had objected.
After reading Bharucha's explanation, Torkelsson said his concerns were not alleviated. "Provost Bharucha's decision was good as reactionary crisis management and a de-escalatory move to avoid conflict on campus," he said. "These groups wanted to make a point that they are here at Tufts. And they are - alive and kicking."
Despite the conflict surrounding the location of and rationale for the ceremony, organizers said the event itself went smoothly.
Schneider and Fletcher student Gillian Cull welcomed the crowd. Senior Mauricio Artinano and Fletcher student Heather Sensibaugh then spoke.
Artinano recalled learning about the United Nations when he was eight or nine years old, and his frustrations with the difficulty of passing worthwhile resolutions at his first Model United Nations competition - a problem that plagues real diplomats.
He said audience members should work to strengthen the United Nations and promote dialogue. "Any frustration is born out of a deep respect for what [the U.N.] stands for," he said.
Sensibaugh discussed the oil-for-food scandal and the sexual abuse by United Nations peacekeepers in the Congo. She said audience members have the ability to reform the institution. "Reform is always on the agenda," she said.
The Fletcher student group, the Ambassachords, then sang the Cantonese song "Tuan jie jiu shi li liang" before the United Nations flag was raised on a pole to the left of the American flag.
The ceremony closed with a reading of the United Nations Charter by University Chaplain Reverend David O'Leary. After he read the passage, O'Leary quoted theologian John Courtney Murray: "Civility dies with the death of dialogue."
According to Bharucha, the turnout was higher than in past years.
Both sides of the controversy said the ceremony had some positive effects. "This whole incident brought Fletcher and the wider Tufts community together in solidarity to defend American values," Torkelsson said.
Starr said she agreed. She said the ceremony gave members of the Tufts community the chance to discuss issues and show that the University is home to a "marketplace" of ideas. "I'm glad that the organizers allowed discussion to take place," she said.
The United Nations Day celebrations continued Monday evening when seven Fletcher students shared their experiences working at the U.N. and other international organizations, corporations and government agencies.
