New colors, old quarrel

(AP) -- A purple and gold version of the Confederate flag, waved by some Louisiana State University fans at sports events, has again raised the debate over whether the stars and bars pay homage to the days of slavery.

"It represents two different things that I'm proud of," said sophomore Harper Hollis, referring to Southern heritage and the state's largest university.

Blacks make up about 10 percent of the student body at the Baton Rouge campus, and many of them are unhappy with the purple and gold version of a banner that flew over armies fighting for the slave states.

"It says that my school promotes that movement -- bigotry, basically," said Steve Brockington, a black student from Ville Platte.

Isaac Netters, a New Orleans native who is coordinator of African-American student affairs at LSU, said he noticed the modified flag image as early as 1996, when he was a freshman at the school. He said he isn't personally angered by it.

"The people that fly these flags, they really believe they're celebrating their heritage," he said, adding there is no doubt the flag is a hot campus issue.

LSU's new chancellor, Sean O'Keefe, is communicating with black student leaders about the issue, and recently posted a statement in an "Issues & Answers" section of the LSU Web site that charts a middle ground between those who abhor the flag and those who, whatever their thoughts about slavery, recognize the U.S. Constitution protects symbolic speech.

"In this great nation and at this great university, we are free to express ourselves. We need to defend this right of free speech," the statement says. "As such, we cannot and will not ban or prohibit the display of symbols.

To do so would impede and inhibit free speech. But that doesn't mean we should sanction irresponsibility. We cannot accept intolerance or actions that are designed to provoke racial divisiveness and hatred."

Later in the statement, the chancellor said: "We need to send a strong message to those within our family and those visiting our campus that LSU does not condone or support the display of this symbol."

LSU doesn't allow the sale of the Confederate flag on campus. It also is sending out letters to vendors reiterating a position taken years ago that LSU does not grant permission for use of its name or "proprietary colors" in selling such flags.

It remains to be seen how such a warning will affect shops such as Tyger Gifts in Metairie, which sells a purple and gold version of the Confederate flag for $30. Shop owner Grace Bankston said 11 of the flags have been sold since they were made available through a Nebraska company in October.