Students at Fairfield University took a stand with members of the Black Lives Matter movement in speaking against the university’s decision to have a Black Lives Matter flag taken down. 

Rev. Dr. Herron Gaston, a Black Lives Matter activist, said the university’s president was “derelict of his duty.” 

“The measure that the president took to take that flag down, I think, was a dereliction of his duty and his responsibility to help protect the most vulnerable on his campus,” says Gaston. 

Students say the call by the administration to remove the flag at the counseling center is upsetting. They tell News 12 they “strongly disagree” with the school’s “official policy of neutrality.” 

Graduate student Tiffany Tubby is studying social work. She says her values and ethics are “Do no harm."

“White silence is doing,” says Tubby. “I don’t want to be a part of that.” 

“To use neutrality as an argument for doing something so baseless is standing with the side of oppressors and choosing oppression over inclusion,” says graduate student Whitney Keyes. 

In a statement, the university says, "Fairfield University encourages our students and faculty to express their views and opinions and fully supports their rights to free expression. We welcome individuals to express themselves with a spirit of humility, inquiry, generosity of spirit and intellectual honesty and rigor, and encourage our community to engage in the important work we are embarking on around diversity, inclusion, access and affordability. 

“The neutrality of the university arises out of respect for free inquiry and the obligation to cherish a diversity of viewpoints. Fairfield is deeply committed to diversity and inclusive excellence, as evidenced by our expansive programming and our spirit of radical hospitality.”