Flagpole honors veterans

By Michael Watanabe
Daily Forty-Niner

Cal State Long Beach President Robert Maxson dedicated a new campus flagpole to honor veterans from Word War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars Friday.

The flagpole, located outside Peterson Hall Science Building 1, will fly the U.S. flag and a flag honoring prisoners of war and those missing in action.

This is the second time that this dedication has taken place, said Raymond Renaud, a Vietnam veteran who works in Audio Visual Services on campus.

Last year, the ceremony took place in front of Brotman Hall. This year, however, the University has bought a new flagpole, Renaud said.

Much of the Long Beach community came to campus to support the ceremony. Councilman Jerry Shultz of the 9th District, gave a speech recognizing the efforts of all veterans. The goal of the flagpole, he said, is to honor and remember those who still struggle "on the mean streets of the country they honorably served."

Hollis Latson, a Korean War veteran who had been homeless, shared Shultz's sentiments.

"This is like an affirmation in that you served your country. It feels good," Latson said. "This kind of stuff awakens the spirit of wanting to get back into society, participate and be a part of society, instead of being isolated and walking around with guilt and chains."

While many community members attending the ceremony appreciated the gesture toward veterans, there has been some controversy.

According to John Whittaker, a technician on campus and a Vietnam-era veteran, the flag is "purely spin on the part of the university to try to mitigate the Department of Labor findings" over a possible affirmative action plan at CSULB.

Whittaker maintained that he is not against honoring veterans, but would "rather have the affirmative action in place, and then the flagpole."

Other veterans agree with Whittaker's standpoint, such as communicative disorders professor Walter Moore Jr.

"It's an attempt to manipulate veterans into believing that the administration is working for them, when in fact, they have failed to adhere to federal law," Moore said. "We don't need a flagpole, we need adherence to the law."

Renaud disagrees. He believes that the university should be commended for the gesture.

Things are "starting to move in the right direction to make up what happened in the past," Renaud said. "We're a long way off, but we're getting close."