MU student burns ISIS flag on campus
Large crowds gathered outside Jesse Hall at the MU columns as an MU student burned an ISIS flag on Thursday afternoon.
Young Americans for Liberty organized the event.
Ian Paris, the student who led the effort, told ABC 17 News he wanted to start a conversation on campus about the threat of ISIS in the world, and remembering those who lost their lives from the groups actions.
Paris said many students on campus aren’t aware of the group’s actions, and wanted to host the event not as a partisan thing, but an educational one.
Some students said they fear the event will only make the university a target.
Those drawn to ISIS, one student said, are unstable, and the event would only cause more harm than good.
Paris said he has thought about the event since the start of classes this fall.
He thinks those fears people have of ISIS are exactly why the event needed to happen, to speak out against what the group has done.
When Paris contacted ABC 17 News this week, he said, “ISIS has violated the liberties and freedoms of millions of people through genocide, deadly religious persecutions, modern-day enslavement, sexual violence, use of chemical weapons, beheadings, and has killed about 250,000 people.”
The Campus Freedom Restoration Act, signed by Gov. Jay Nixon, states that all outdoor areas on public university campuses in Missouri are traditional public forums where free speech is protected.
Paris told ABC 17 News he obtained an open flame permit and that MU knew about the event.
ABC 17 News reached out to the university Wednesday, and MU officials confirmed that Paris went through the proper process and has the appropriate permits.
