A simple mistake, staff say of flag fiasco

BY FARAH ABDELKADER

Caravan staff assigned to write a story about AUC’s seven days of mourning for the 21 Copts beheaded in Libya were surprised to discover that the Egyptian and American flags were flown half-mast but upside down at the New Cairo campus.

The international code of flags states that a flag that is flown half-mast signifies a state of mourning. But a flag that is flown upside down shows dire distress.

Samy Abdelwahab, the Associate Director for Environmental Services, told The Caravan that it was a mistake by the worker who was in charge of raising the flags every morning that led to the gaffe.

“We, as AUC, are concerned that anyone could misconstrue this mistake – we don’t have any political or religious affiliations. The worker was just misinformed,” Abdelwahab said.

He said that the issue was immediately dealt with once the mistake was discovered.

The Caravan returned to the scene to find workers taking down the flags and raising them right-side up.

Abdelwahab also met with his entire support team to explain the correct meaning of the half-mast term in order to avoid the same mistake in the future.

“It is rare that we have flags at half-mast; it is a new experience for us and it is also the first time for the worker to follow such an order,” he added.

On Monday, President Lisa Anderson sent a community-wide email saying the university would observe seven days of mourning along with the rest of the country.

“At the end of the week, during Community Day on Tuesday, February 24, we will have an opportunity to come together to take solace and comfort in our community, and we will observe a moment of silence,” her email said.