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State Rep. John Velis, D-Westfield, a U.S. Army reserve officer, has written a letter to Hampshire College President Jonathan Lashway, expressing his concern about the college's decision not to fly the American flag.

(George Delisle / The Republican [file])

AMHERST -- State Rep. John Velis, D-Westfield, has sent a letter to Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash calling on the college to once again fly the American flag on campus.

The college last week stopped flying the flag and all other flags following discussions and concerns about what the flag means.

The college initially decided to fly the flag at half-staff, but that upset some, so the college decided not to fly the flag or any flags on campus until all viewpoints on the flag's meaning could be heard.

"As a concerned citizen and a veteran I am profoundly upset that your administration has labeled the American Flag a 'disruptive symbol,'" Velis wrote. "It defies logic to purport that the removal of flags is any kind of a prerequisite to a meaningful and effective dialogue addressing 'racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and behaviors.'"

With the flag taken down, Lash in a statement to campus wrote that the college could then focus on these issues.

In his letter, Velis wrote, "It is an absolute absurdity to imply that the display of our flag can incite disruptive behavior."

Velis wrote that "discussions surrounding these above groups would not even be possible if not for the sacrifices of our service members and veterans."

Velis stated that "having the aforementioned discussion and respecting veterans are not mutually exclusive."

The campus has been discussing the flag and what it means for about a year but the issue came to the forefront following the election of Donald J. Trump.

Hampshire College Letter by The Republican/MassLive.com on Scribd