UMass Amherst bars student from carrying Tibetan flag in commencement ceremony

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UMass Amherst bars student from carrying Tibetan flag in commencement ceremony

May 5, 2017;

By Laurie Loisel, Boston Globe,

UMass Amherst student Kalsang Nangpa, with the Tibetan flag.

AMHERST — Kalsang Nangpa dreamed of proudly carrying the Tibetan flag next Friday in a formal ceremony that kicks off commencement at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Nangpa, 22, whose parents are Tibetan refugees, had worn traditional garb from the Himalayan region when she graduated from elementary school and from high school in Medford.

So Nangpa was heartbroken last month when she was told UMass would bar her from hoisting the flag during its colorful Parade of Nations. The reason: Tibet is not recognized by the State Department as a sovereign nation, but as part of China.

“What is the point of this flag ceremony? I thought it was to celebrate the diversity of the graduates,” Nangpa, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in public health, said Thursday. “I want to carry the flag during the ceremony. That is symbolic.”