Flags are easy to ignore. Most people pass them every day on the way to class or work without giving them much thought. But throughout history, flags have carried a meaning far beyond decoration.

When the American colonies broke away from Britain, they did not continue flying the British flag. The Stars and Stripes became a visible symbol of a new nation and a new political community. Likewise, when Southern states seceded from the Union in 1860 and 1861, they replaced the American flag with Confederate banners to signal that they no longer considered themselves part of the United States. In both cases, changing the flag was a public statement about identity and allegiance. Flags matter because they represent the communities that choose to fly them. For that reason, institutions should be careful about which flags they display on official flagpoles.

This understanding of what flags represent is what makes the recent controversy at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools worth discussing. As part of the University’s broader commitment to institutional neutrality, the Lab School adopted a policy limiting which flags may be flown on official school flagpoles. Under that policy, the Pride flag, which had previously been raised during Pride Month, would no longer be displayed as an official school symbol. The decision drew criticism from some students and community members, and students later responded by raising a Pride flag themselves. The administration’s decision was correct because official symbols should represent the institution as a whole. A school flagpole exists to communicate the identity of the school itself. Once it becomes a platform for particular causes or identity groups, it no longer serves that unifying purpose.

Many critics of the policy argue that removing the Pride flag sends a message to LGBTQ+ students that they are less welcome. The school’s obligations toward those students remain unchanged. LGBTQ+ students are members of the Lab School community and deserve the same respect and opportunities as every other student. Universities apply the same principle in other contexts. A school can welcome students of every faith without flying religious banners above its central quad. Most people understand that those students belong on campus regardless of which flags are displayed. Institutional neutrality creates a common civic space where people with different beliefs and identities share membership in the same community.

The students who raised a Pride flag in response to the policy inadvertently demonstrated why the policy exists in the first place. Their actions reflected a view held by a group of students, and they were entitled to express it. A school committed to free expression should welcome that kind of participation in campus life. The administration, however, occupies a different role. Students speak for themselves. An official flag flown by the school speaks for the institution.The flags flown there should be symbols that belong to the entire community. The American flag, the Illinois flag, and the flags of the University of Chicago and the Lab Schools all serve that purpose because they represent institutions that every student shares membership in. The Pride flag, rather, represents a very particular movement and identity group. People may disagree about the merits of that movement, but the larger question is whether any movement should become part of the official identity of a neutral institution.

Supporters of the Pride flag deserve to be taken seriously. Many see the flag as a signal that LGBTQ+ students are welcome and valued members of the school community. That concern comes from a genuine desire to make students feel included. Still, a school’s commitment to inclusion is measured by its actions more than its symbols. Students form their impression of a community through their daily experiences. A student who feels respected by classmates and supported by teachers is far more likely to feel a sense of belonging than a student who simply sees a particular flag on display. A flag can communicate a message, but it cannot substitute for the culture of a school. 

Students should have broad freedom to express their identities and advocate for causes they care about, but the institution itself serves a different role. Its symbols should reflect the community that all students share. The Lab School’s neutrality policy recognizes that distinction. Reserving the official flagpole for symbols associated with the school, the university, the state, and the country keeps the focus on the institutions that unite the community. If institutional neutrality is going to have any practical meaning, it has to guide decisions, even when those decisions are controversial.