Lara Harb was first told she would be represented by the Israeli flag at her commencement.

01:38 AM EDT on Saturday, May 29, 2004

BY CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- While Palestinians struggle for statehood on the other side of the world, Lara Harb fought her own battle for national identity on the campus of Brown University.

Three weeks ago, Harb learned that the Palestinian flag would not fly among the 64 flags at Monday's graduation ceremony. The only Palestinian in Brown's Class of 2004, she protested.

"I have a feeling they thought that I wouldn't do anything about it and they would be better off not having to deal with the controversy [of displaying the Palestinian flag]," Harb said. "But the thing is, not putting the flag up is just as controversial."

Harb questioned university officials about their refusal to fly her flag, and they told her Palestine is not a sovereign nation, and therefore its flag would not be raised on the College Green.

Technically, the nation of Palestine does not exist. Palestinians who live in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, territories within Israel, believe the land is theirs. Negotiations for Palestinian independence have spanned decades without success, though Israel, the United States and the United Nations agreed in the "Road Map" for Middle East peace that there should be an independent Palestinian state.

Harb, 23, a comparative literature major, wrote her senior thesis on Palestinian literature. She hopes to become a researcher in human-services. She grew up on the West Bank.

Harb said university officials told her that the Israeli flag would represent her.

Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski On Monday, Brown senior Lara Harb will be represented by the flag of her people.

She rejected that idea. As a Palestinian, she is not eligible for Israeli citizenship.

"Being represented by the Israeli flag is incorrect, rude, and offensive to me," she wrote in a letter to Brown President Ruth J. Simmons. "I would greatly appreciate if you see to it that I am not represented by my occupier, and that the Palestinian flag be flown the day of commencement."

Simmons wrote back: "The University's policy is to fly the flags of all sovereign states from which our graduates hail, with sovereignty based on classification by the United Nations and recognition by the international community. Like Palestine, other non-sovereign territories, such as Chechnya or Quebec, also fall outside this category and are not included in our inventory of flags. This has been our policy since the tradition began, and I believe it is a sound one. I am sorry I am not able to respond to your request in the way you had hoped."

THE CAMPUS SKIRMISH mirrors Palestine's struggle, Harb said yesterday.

"Very few people know what it means to be Palestinian. Very few people have an understanding of what it is like growing up under occupation," Harb said. "I always had to fight for my position and to prove that I'm a regular human being [who] deserves the same rights and honors as other people."

Harb pressed for a meeting with the president. She wanted to lay out her argument in favor of the Palestinian flag, a banner with a red triangle and three stripes of black, white and green.

Harb wanted to tell Simmons that the Palestinian flag is flown at the United Nations, where Palestine is recognized as an "observer" and that Palestinian passports, like Harb's, are recognized all over the world.

"The flag is flown in many official situations, like at the White House during peace negotiations and at the Olympics, so there is no reason to single me out as the only student who will walk without a flag on commencement," Harb said.

The president wasn't able to meet with Harb but on Wednesday, Russell C. Carey, secretary of the university, called and listened to her arguments.

He told her he'd talk to Simmons, but not to get her hopes up, she said.

Around midnight, Harb's father, Shawqi Harb, sent an e-mail to his friends asking them to call or e-mail the university president on behalf of his daughter. The message was forwarded to others, including the media.

"It was pretty amazing how many people reacted," Harb said.

Harb said Brown faculty, alumni and classmates contacted Brown officials and asked them to display Harb's flag.

At noon on Thursday, the university reversed its decision.

Simmons explained the change of heart in a written statement: "Initially, we were advised by those we consulted that the flag should not fly because of an interpretation of the sovereignty of Palestine. However, upon further research and advice, we happily discovered that there was no problem with including the flag. We consider this to be an excellent outcome in keeping with our desire to honor the countries of origin of our graduating students."

Harb is still perplexed.

"I don't know what caused them to change their mind, whether it was the bombardment of phone calls and e-mails, or talking to professors," she said.

Either way, it's one small victory for her people.