By May 2017, Student Government hopes to have an international flag display hung on campus in order to give representation to all Truman State University’s students.
Two years ago the diversity committee from Student Government considered getting an outdoor international flag display on The Quad where there are already flags, and Student Government President senior JJ Dorrell and Vice President senior Christy Crouse say they hope to put that plan in motion.
The committee did research on the flag display and sent its plan to former University President Troy Paino, who sent the plan to the campus architect for further research. A year after the plans were sent to the campus architect, the committee was told the project would be too expensive, Crouse says.
This year during a weekly meeting with Interim President Sue Thomas, Dorrell and Crouse said they brought up the international flag display again and were told the display fits into the diversity strategic plan. This began a revamp of the project.
Crouse says the idea behind the flag display is to show how diverse the population of Truman is and the pride the university takes in its international students.
“The visual impact of a display like that is just — whoa. It just signifies inclusion, that people are welcome, and it brightens up the place,” Crouse says.
Crouse says as of right now the display would hold 50 flags, since this semester there are students from 50 countries enrolled in Truman. As students come and go, flags would be added to the display to ensure all of the University’s students are represented.
There is still some talk about where the display will be placed. When the project was brought up again this semester there was talk about putting the display in the library. Janet Romine, Head of Public Services at Pickler Memorial Library says the library staff didn’t want a permanent display put in the library, because they use the space for temporary displays throughout the year.
A place Student Government is considering at this point, Dorrell and Crouse say, is the large blank wall in McClain across from the Registrar. They say it’s a large wall, and there is enough traffic there that the display would be seen.
Dorrell says if anyone ever has anything they would like Student Government to address, they should stop by the office in the first floor of the Student Union Building or send an email.