Gay Pride Flag Stolen, Flagpole Vandalized at University of Maine

This week the University of Maine kicked off its annual LGBTQ Pride Week with the raising of a rainbow flag in the school's mall. Shortly thereafter, someone bent the flag pole, ripped off the flag, and stole it, The Maine Campus reports.

According to a post from group member and fifth-year psychology student Charles Chapin on the “Announcements & Alerts” folder of the university’s FirstClass network, there [was] another flag-raising ceremony at 12 p.m. Tuesday.

“This act of vandalism, at first, may seem like some drunken joke. The truth of the matter is that whether or not the perpetrators know this, this is an attack on a group of students and an entire community,” Chapin wrote. “Please come out and show everyone that UMaine will not stand for this type of intolerance. We hope to see you all there.”

The flag is raised for one week during every semester — in the fall for “Coming Out Week” and in the spring for Pride Week.