After campus pushback, university pauses policy that removed professors' Pride flagshttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/04/after-campus-pushback-university-pauses-policy-that-removed-professors-pride-flags/ 🔗Daniel Villarreal (6 Apr 2026)
After an outcry from faculty and free speech advocates, Boston University (BU) President Melissa Gilliam apologized for the recent removal of Pride flags from public display on-campus and announced a pause to the policy behind their removal.
"I am deeply sorry," Gilliam wrote in a Monday email to students and staff. "In the public conversation about Boston University's time, place, and manner policies, that spotlight has fallen disproportionately on our LGBTQIA+ community, and I have heard how difficult and painful that has been."
Gilliam also reiterated BU's support of its LGBTQ+ community. That support came under question after administrators removed LGBTQ+ Pride flags from at least three campus locations, including a professor's office window.
The campus' free expression policies — which were revised in September 2024, around the time of Gilliam's arrival — said that university affiliates are "welcome to display signs, posters, or flags on authorized bulletin boards or on interior walls of their private offices." However, the policy put prohibitions on outward-facing displays.
Last week, a group of students, staff, and alumni gathered outside Gilliam's office to protest the removals and deliver a petition. The petition — signed by about 2,000 community members and delivered to BU Vice President Christine Wynne — asked Gilliam to revise campus policy to allow community members to display signs and flags on doors, windows, and walls in individual offices, dorm rooms, and private workspaces — regardless of whether those displays are visible from outside, Boston.com reported.
