By Chelsea Hackney, Student Reporter
Physical Resources mounted 108 flags representing students’ home countries and states on 122 light poles lining the Lunsford Foundation Trail on Thursday. The flags displayed symbolize over 100 countries, U.S. states and territories.
“For visitors, these flags are a powerful message of the global integration they’ll experience at ACU, perhaps something they wouldn’t experience at other universities,” said Jason Groves, associate vice president for marketing.
The project, which has been in the works since last summer, is intended to reflect the diversity of the ACU community. The flags mirror the Parade of Flags performed at Opening Day Ceremonies every year, said Kevin Roberts, associate vice president of operations. Each academic year, flags will be added or removed to reflect the current student body.
Groves said this might seem like a marketing gimmick to attract prospective students and alumni, but the flags have value for current students as well.
“The flags give students an understanding of who they are as a body,” he said.
It shows in a clear way the great opportunities students have to learn from each other, he said.
The flags’ presence also serves to emphasize students’ citizenship in the global village.
“We’re citizens of a broader community, and these flags are a great visual reminder of that,” Roberts said. “We hope that as someone is jogging around the track, they’ll look up and realize just how far we reach. ACU is so close, that we forget that.”
The project was the result of collaboration by several departments on campus, said Mary Reyes, assistant to the executive vice president and the special projects coordinator.
The final cost of the project was about $25,000, Reyes said. These funds were set aside for investments in the 21st Century Vision of the university, a vision founded solidly on a global Christian mindset.
“As Christians, we share a faith, and these flags bring that to life,” Groves said. “They remind me of all of my brothers and sisters around the world.”
