Bracey Harris

The Clarion-Ledger

Mississippi State University and the Mississippi University for Women have joined five other Mississippi public universities in ceasing to fly the state flag.

Mississippi University for Women President Jim Borsig says his school removed the only pole flying Mississippi's state flag in July as part of a construction project.

Borsig says he was willing to make the move after campus groups had sustained discussions in the last school year. He also cites the 50th anniversary of the university's integration as a factor.

In a quiet turn from a previous stance that the state flag would continue to fly on campus grounds, MSU President Mark Keenum permitted the removal of the flag — which shows the Confederate battle emblem in the upper left-hand corner — from four locations on the university’s Starkville campus this summer.

SEE ALSO: Ole Miss removes state flag: how it came down

"Under our process of shared governance, the leadership in our individual colleges have flexibility in making decisions about operations under their jurisdiction. In keeping with that process, requests were made recently to replace the Mississippi flag in several locations with a larger American flag to better conform to our very large American flag which flies over the Drill Field (MSU's primary campus green space), and Dr. Keenum approved those requests," said university spokesman Sid Salter in a statement to The Clarion-Ledger.

Keenum's allowance of the measures is a change to his previous indication that the state flag would continue to be displayed on the university's campus.

Last November, the Associated Press reported Keenum — who has expressed his personal support for a change to the state flag — indicated he had no plans to take similar action.

"The state flag of Mississippi is just that — it is the state flag of our state," Keenum said at the time. "When I arrived at Mississippi State (in 2009), we had several (state) flags flying on campus that are still there today."

Salter said flags were removed from outside a veterinary building, a conference center belonging to the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, an alumni center and a veterans' center. He said the changes were made in June and July.

The state flag will remain part of a 50-flag display in the university's Perry Cafeteria that includes flags representing home states and countries of students at the university.

"Dr. Keenum has said repeatedly that the issue related to whether Mississippi should change its state flag is not going to be resolved on our campus," Salter said. "That decision rests in Jackson with our elected leaders. Our focus at MSU should be and will be directed toward meeting the needs of the all-time record student enrollment this fall and on advancing our core mission of teaching, research and service."

The move comes at a time when several of Mississippi's public universities have taken steps to distance themselves from Confederate symbols. Last fall two universities, Ole Miss and the University of Southern Mississippi, removed the state flag from their campuses. Also, Ole Miss Athletic Director Ross Bjork confirmed recently in a bid to make the campus's game day experience more welcoming and "inclusive" that the university's marching band would no longer play "Dixie."

The decisions, however, have done little to sway state policy. The 2016 legislative session saw several bills to change the state flag die in the House committee and many in Republican leadership, including Gov. Phil Bryant, have referred to the 2001 referendum in which the state's voters elected to keep the current flag.

"Gov. Bryant does not get involved in day-to-day decisions at Mississippi's institutions of higher learning," Clay Chandler, Bryant's chief of communications, said in a statement to The Clarion-Ledger. "As he has said before, he believes voters should decide at the ballot box what the state flag is or is not. Mississippians who pay for the operation of Mississippi State University certainly have the right to express their opinion to university leadership regarding this decision."

In a previous statement addressing USM's removal of the state flag at its Hattiesburg campus, Bryant indicated publicly funded institutions should respect Mississippi law, since it grants the state flag “all the respect and ceremonious etiquette given the American flag.”

According to Section 37-13-13 of Mississippi law, the flag “shall be displayed in close proximity to the school building at all times during the hours of daylight when the school is in session when the weather will permit without damage to the flag.” The section, which goes on to state, “It shall be the duty of the board of trustees of the school district to provide for the flags and their display,” however, does not reference institutions of higher learning.

Seven public universities in Mississippi — MSU, MUW, Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Ole Miss and USM — do not fly the state flag on their campuses.

Delta State University is the only public Mississippi university still flying the flag.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Bracey Harris at bharris2@gannett.com or 601-961-7248. Follow @braceyharris on Twitter.