College Council Votes to Drop Pledge of Allegiance from Meetings over Concerns about Its ‘Appropriateness’

An advisory council for Hillsborough Community College in Florida reportedly voted to stop saying the pledge of allegiance during a September meeting after a discussion about how it was making some people uncomfortable.

Local news affiliate WFLA reports that although members of the Institutional Advisory Council maintain that the reasoning behind the vote was to save time, the preliminary minutes reflect that there “was a heated discussion about ‘The Pledge of Allegiance and its appropriateness in an institution of higher learning which fosters academic freedom and structured dissent against authority.’”

“Some members expressed views that the Pledge made some people uncomfortable and that it violated their beliefs in academic freedom and the goals of the IAC,” the minutes stated, according to WFLA.

The council comprises students, faculty, and staff.

#share#In an e-mail to WFLA, IAC chairwoman Sunshine Gibbons claimed that the preliminary minutes did “not accurately reflect what actually happened at the meeting” — which seems like kind of a weird way to take minutes:

#related#“I am in the process of correcting them at this time,” she said in an e-mail. “These should not have been made available.”

HCC director of marketing and public relations Ashley Carl told WFLA that school officials “don’t support” the council’s policy change:

“We don’t support the decision that was made, and again, those minutes aren’t final,” she said. “Dr. Atwater, our college president, will be going to our next IAC meeting and discussing this issue with them. We don’t support that decision.”