Red, white and blue are at the center of controversy on the UC Berkeley campus.

While the university has planned numerous events to commemorate the first anniversary of Sept. 11, Chancellor Robert Berdahl overruled a decision by student leaders to distribute white ribbons to students during the memorial.

At a press conference last night, Chancellor Berdahl said he had informed ASUC President Jesse Gabriel that red, white and blue ribbons—not white—would be distributed.

He added the student leaders had initially chosen white ribbons because multicolored ribbons were too costly.

But student leaders said the decision was not based on financial concerns. Dissenters feel red, white and blue ribbons will lead to conflict.

"It's true that (white ribbons) are cheaper," said Graduate Assembly President Jessica Quindel. "But I was at the meetings, and the decisions had nothing to do with the prices."

Quindel said she was not informed of the change in ribbon colors prior to the press conference.

Berdahl said the decision to have multicolored ribbons was not up to students.

"Jessica does not speak for the university. I speak for the university," Berdahl said. "(Red, white and blue) ribbons don't offend anyone."

Before Berdahl's announcement, the decision to distribute white ribbons had sparked fierce opposition from members of the Berkeley College Republicans, who published an online article denouncing the decision as "unpatriotic."

"Red, white and blue are the colors of America," said Kelso Barnett, who spoke at Wednesday's ASUC Senate meeting on behalf of the group. "We are in this country. This is a public university supported by the taxpayers. Patriotism should not be a dirty word on this campus."

Others said the memorial should include all members of the campus community.

"There were people in the World Trade Center who were not American and people who were not American who died in the aftermath of Sept. 11," Quindel said. "It is the role of the leadership of this campus that we don't want to send a message of exclusion."

Chancellor Berdahl said the memorial will be open for all forms of expression from participants.

"There will be ample opportunity for all to express their grief, their mourning or their political sentiment, as was the case on Sproul Plaza a year ago," Berdahl said. "(The event) will be marked by contemplative music and prayerful thought to honor those murdered a year ago."

Organizers will display an American flag at the event scheduled on Sproul Plaza and will not prohibit singing patriotic songs such as the "Star Spangled Banner," said UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore.

But Cal-SERVE Senator Gustavo Mata, an international student from Venezuela, said he does not support the inclusion of an American flag displayed at the memorial.

"Having the flag there takes away the importance of the day for people who do not agree with the terrorist attacks but are not American," Mata said. "It makes people feel excluded."

International House administrators discourage putting any nation's flags on display because nationalist sentiments aroused by flags can provoke conflict between students, said Graduate Assembly External Affairs Vice President Mo Kashmiri, who lives at the residence hall.

"Human relations should drive politics, not the other way around," Kashmiri said. "A secure world will always require human relationships and dialogue. Flags and politics interfere with that."

ASUC President Jesse Gabriel also said he did not want the memorial day to be political.

Outside of the UC Berkeley community, national and state governments plan to honor the day with U.S. flags.

President Bush formally announced that Sept. 11 would be called Patriot Day and encouraged all Americans to display United States flags.

Billboards reading "Be a Patriot" will be displayed in more than 60 visible locations statewide according to a statement from State Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson (D-Culver City).

Reprinted by permission from the Daily Cal