Clare College removes trans flag flown by students

Porters removed the flag early in the afternoon, following the College’s refusal to allow one to be flown

Clare College had denied the Union of Clare Students (UCS) permission to fly the flagAnonymous Clare students

by Bethan Moss

This article is 3 years old

Sunday November 21 2021, 1:21pm

Content Note: Discussion of transphobia, mention of transphobic violence

Clare College porters took down the trans pride flag yesterday (20/11), after it was raised over Clare’s Old Court by a group of students to honour Trans Day of Remembrance.

The flag was taken down at approximately 12:35pm.

Clare College had denied the Union of Clare Students (UCS) permission to fly the flag, “without giving any reasons why” according to a joint statement from the College’s UCS and MCR LGBT+ Officers.

The students who raised the flag, who wish to remain anonymous, said in a statement to Varsity: “The refusal of Clare College to fly the trans pride flag on the Trans Day of Remembrance, just as they had previously refused to fly the LGBT+ flag on other occasions, is an abhorrent and disgraceful political statement.”

Trans Day of Remembrance is held worldwide on 20 November each year, to commemorate those who have lost their lives as a result of transphobic violence.

Many other colleges – including Queens’, Murray Edwards and St Catharine’s – flew the Trans pride flag to mark the date.

In February 2020, the College went back on a decision not to fly the pride flag for LGBT+ History Month after students Freddy Legg and Oli Cope raised it without permission, and launched a petition which received 1,142 signatures.

The students who raised the flag continued: “Clare College’s decision not to fly the flag represents an unwillingness to be seen supporting trans lives. It is time Clare too shows visible support for its trans, non-binary, and queer community at large.”

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They added that they decided to rasie the flag “to remember trans and non-binary people lost to bigotry, and in the hope that in future the college will redress its balance and support unequivocally its trans and non-binary students.”

Clare College’s UCS and MCR LGBT+ Officers clarified that although “neither UCS nor MCR committees were involved in putting up the flag this morning, we, as a student union, support our trans students and take exception to the decision to take it down.”

They continued: “College’s choice to ignore its trans students, not only in its initial refusal but then again in actively removing the flag of this community on a day of mourning and remembrance, signifies a fundamental lack of respect which we cannot condone.”

Varsity has contacted Clare College for comment.

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