11-05-2025
Oxford Union rejects call to fly LGBT flag during Pride month
The Oxford Union has rejected calls to reinstate the mandatory flying of the LGBT flag every Pride month.
Anita Okunde, the president of the union, made the request after an order requiring the flag to be raised in June was mysteriously removed from the student-run standing committee's rule book.
The order would make it compulsory for 'every union president to fly an LGBT flag clearly and visibly from the courtyard throughout June every year'.
It would also give the president the discretion to waive the requirement 'in the event of the death of the Sovereign, or at such other time when public buildings fly their flags at half mast'.
In minutes of the meeting, seen by The Telegraph, Ms Okunde claimed it was not 'a new standing order change' and that it had been mysteriously removed from the committee's rule book.
But her motion was rejected by a vote of seven to four in a secret ballot on May 5, with critics fearing it would open a 'Pandora's box' of demands for other flags to be flown.
In a meeting at which opposition voices were cautious not to be cancelled, Samy Medjdoub, the third elected member of the committee from Keble College, said that by passing the motion any other individual may make the same request for any other cause and described the scenario as 'opening the floodgates'.
He added that by 'expressing his belief that everyone in the standing committee supports the LGBTQIA+ community regardless of the flag being on display, the motion should not be ratified'.
Ms Okunde argued that it had been part of the rules and standing orders for a significant number of years, and that there were not any Pandora's boxes stemming from the order.
She added she had 'never heard of anybody being upset or requesting another specific flag to be flown to her knowledge'.
A secret ballot was suggested in a bid to keep the motion centred on principle and separate from the committee's individual views on LGBT representation.
The ruling has ignited a fierce online backlash from students, with one writing that the change was 'confirmation that the union is as bad as everyone thinks it is'.
Another said: 'To be fair, at least it keeps the LGBTQ+ community safe by giving a warning as to where they aren't welcome.
'If the union wants to make it clearer, it could always vote on whether to have a sign reading: 'Bigots within beware.''
But the deletion of the original order has never been explained. Removal or changes to the rules and standing orders are meant to be discussed, with students being notified.
Ms Okunde, who has been a member of the committee five times, said that she did not recall a discussion on the matter and the committee admitted it had found no explanation in past minutes as to why the order was removed.
Committee members speculated that it might have been accidentally removed in the past, along with other orders.
Moosa Harraj, the president-elect who will take over in the autumn term, deemed the unexplained disappearance as 'crazy' and ordered an inquiry into its removal.
Ms Okunde announced that, despite the vote, she would 'regardless fly the flag in her term '.
She became the union's president in December following months of infighting after a 'sinister' Israel-Palestine debate on the motion 'This house believes Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide', which passed by 278 votes to 59.
The Telegraph approached Oxford Union and Ms Okunde for comment.
