While in the real world, Americans are flying the stars and stripes to celebrate Gulf War victory, at Harvard, the only flags grabbing attention are the stars and bars.

The display of confederate flags--not unusual at other schools--has rekindled an age-old debate about the extent of free speech on campus. It is a debate that has many students and parents fuming and some administrators running for cover.

On February 18, Bridget L. Kerrigan '92--an outspoken conservative voice on campus--hung a confederate flag from her Kirkland House window. It wasn't the first time Kerrigan had made a public display of her pride in Dixie. Last year, after transferring to Harvard from the University of Virginia, she draped her banner from her Peabody Terrace window.

Kerrigan's supporters have called her actions a legitimate statement of affection for the South, while critics have labeled them a cheap attempt to gain attention and rally support against the commonly-perceived dominance of the "politically correct."

Several days after the Kirkland flag made its debut, another flag appeared--this time in the window of Cabot House resident Timothy P. McCormack '91-'92. McCormack said he made his display to protest what he called an unduly harsh criticism of Kerrigan's flag.

Members of Black student organizations, in particular, objected to the public presence of the Confederate flags, which many say still represents the slavery and oppression which characterized the Old South. While the objections were heartfelt, the conflict was not unlike so many free speech debates which had occured in the past.

But when Jacinda T. Townsend '92 taped a black swastika to her Cabot House window in response to the whole affair, she upped the ante touching a raw nerve, particularly in the Jewish community. Almost too coincidentally, the controversial flags were hung just as parents of juniors were arriving for a weekend of University-sponsored activities.

A forum intended to address various campus issues turned into a fiery debate when several parents spoke passionately against the displays, some addressing their remarks directly to Kerrigan, who was invited by the administration to attend the meeting.

Several days before, Hillel and the Black Students Association (BSA) had released a joint letter condemning the display of both swastikas and confederate flags. And early this week, groups organized by BSA held "eat-ins" in the Kirkland and Cabot dining halls. At the eat-ins, the association's president, Mecca J. Nelson '92, called for a strong response to the Confederate flags from University and College administrators, including "a policy that will prevent this kind of thing in the future."

There Oughtta Be a Law...

Although immediate action by the University seemed the obvious solution to many students, administrators and faculty members were quick to point out that such actions might prove troublesome.

House masters and college administrators have generally said that, while the symbols displayed are offensive and their display is insensitive, the controversial actions are protected under University free speech guidelines.

President Derek C. Bok said in an interview this week, "I am generally in favor of keeping the right to free speech as broad as the First Amendment, but on the other hand accepting somewhat greater responsibility in trying to educate everyone here about the needs and the sensitivities of other people so that we can try to develop a more understanding and supportive community."

Bok said education should be done "by pursuasion, and not by imposing inhibitions or imposing restrictions on people's right to communicate."

The limits of free speech have been a consistent topic of controversy at Harvard and other universities. In spring 1990, a Confederate flag hung outside Leverett House by Jon P. Jiles '92 was voluntarily removed by Jiles after students complained. And in fall 1989, Kerrigan's Peabody Terrace flag was removed by the superintendent because it violated a clause against irregular window displays in her rooming contract.