{"id":223196,"date":"2026-04-08T10:19:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/223196\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T10:19:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:19:07","slug":"usf-st-pete-students-continue-push-to-reinstate-multicultural-flags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/223196\/","title":{"rendered":"USF St. Pete students continue push to reinstate multicultural flags"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>USF students formed a non-USF-affiliated organization dedicated to spreading awareness for the St. Pete campus\u2019s multicultural flags. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE\/NICOLE BENJAMIN<\/p>\n

Some USF St. Pete students are still speaking out against the university\u2019s removal of the multicultural, gender and sexuality flags from its student center two years after their removal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2024, USF St. Pete removed<\/a> flags \u2014 including international, pride and Black Lives Matter flags \u2014 from its University Student Center due to visitor complaints.<\/p>\n

Five months after their removal, Senate Bill 100<\/a> was introduced in the Florida Senate to prohibit the display of \u201cpolitical viewpoints\u201d in public schools, but it failed to pass last April.<\/p>\n

In August, USF spokesperson Althea Johnson said only two USF buildings are allowed to display flags \u2014 the International Student Service Office and the College of Engineering.<\/p>\n

Still, both buildings are located on the Tampa campus, leaving no spaces on the USF St. Pete campus to display cultural or pride representation.<\/p>\n

Nicole Benjamin, a junior digital communications and multimedia journalism major, said she and her friends are still disappointed the flags were taken down from the St. Pete campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI can confidently say that the sense of community and a sense of acceptance just do not feel as strong,\u201d Benjamin said.<\/p>\n

Benjamin said this feeling of disappointment inspired her and roughly 30 other St. Pete students to form a non-USF-affiliated organization, called USFSP Concerned Students<\/a>, in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organization has been active on social media, engaging in online forums and distributing booklets and flags around campus to fight for students\u2019 freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we really want to reinstate is that culture,\u201d Benjamin said. \u201cAnd for these underclassmen coming in, it\u2019s really disappointing that they don\u2019t get to experience that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: OPINION: Reinstate Pride, BLM flags at USF<\/a><\/p>\n

Nico Allen, a junior interdisciplinary social sciences and criminology major, is part of the USFSP Concerned Students organization and the director of community initiatives in USF\u2019s Office of Multicultural Affairs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Allen said the multicultural flags were taken down from St. Pete\u2019s University Student Center while he was working as an orientation leader in summer 2024.<\/p>\n

Before their removal, he led tours past the flags and observed student and parent reactions to them \u2014 which he said were mostly positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were symbols that represented social and international solidarity,\u201d Allen said, \u201cIt displayed that USF offered a safe space. There\u2019s the LGBTQ+ flag, the [Black Lives Matter] and Pan African flags, and those were powerful symbols.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since joining USFSP Concerned Students, Allen has been spreading information about the flag removals to other St. Pete students through in-person and social media campaigns.<\/p>\n

His goal, he said, is to raise awareness and gather more support for the flags\u2019 reinstatement.<\/p>\n

Benjamin said that requests to reinstate the flags at USF St. Pete have been forwarded to USF administrators and even to the university\u2019s Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n

Still, she said the organization is yet to receive a response from USF.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll roads kept being a dead end,\u201d Benjamin said.<\/p>\n

Related: OPINION: Florida wants to ban political flags on campuses \u2013 and it should<\/a><\/p>\n

Gabriela Rodriguez, a sophomore criminology major, said she had seen the flags in the University Student Center before they were removed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Originally from Venezuela, Rodriguez said the multicultural flags spoke to her on a greater, more personal level.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first saw [the flags], I felt inspired and seen as somebody from Venezuela, like I saw my flag there and I just felt like I belonged,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Therefore, Rodriguez said it felt unusual to see the flags gone, prompting her to join USFSP Concerned Students and advocate for their return.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rodriguez said she has been helping spread awareness about the flags\u2019 reinstatement\u00a0through in-person and social media campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt really strange and dystopian in a way,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cI just wondered, \u2018What does the school stand for now? What is this supposed to mean?\u2019 It can\u2019t be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naomi Bond, a sophomore interdisciplinary social sciences major, said she toured USF St. Pete before enrolling.<\/p>\n

Bond said the flags were still hanging in the University Student Center at the time, and she thought they looked \u201ccool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was honestly one of the reasons that I wanted to come here,\u201d Bond said. \u201cIt showed that the environment here was for the students, to support the student body and their identities.\u201d<\/p>\n

But after seeing the flags gone when she finally enrolled at USF St. Pete, Bond said the removals had a strong effect on her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I learned that they got taken down right before I was going to come here, it was like a rude awakening to see how, like, things are changing,\u201d Bond said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bond, who is now a member of USFSP Concerned Students, said its members have spoken to \u201chundreds\u201d of students about the flag removals to ensure this was a universitywide issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask pretty much any student on this campus who knows about the flags, they are not happy that they got taken down,\u201d Bond said.<\/p>\n

Benjamin said it is important to bring back the flags to the St. Pete campus, as multicultural spaces make all students feel welcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important that there are spaces built for like non-white students or non-straight students and queer students,\u201d Benjamin said.<\/p>\n

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