The flag display “Our Cultures, Our Community” represents the countries from which our students and their families come. It reminds us that including people from different cultures and experiences in decision making will help enrich community life at NEOMED.
How does the exhibit make you feel? Here’s one response:
I was born and raised in Iran. I immigrated to the United States at a young age to pursue higher education and live in the free world.
I wish I could say that the flag currently displayed at NEOMED to represent my country makes me proud. Unfortunately, the emotions it stirs in me are anything but pride.
This flag represents not my people, but the Islamic Republic of Iran. It represents decades of oppression, corruption, torture and murder. It represents the authoritarian rule of a regime that has held its nation hostage for over 40 years and robbed them of their most basic human rights.
As I write this message, my fellow Iranians are protesting the regime on the streets of Iran, burning this very flag, and risking their lives. In return, they are faced with batons, bullets, rape, torture and murder.
This government has the blood of men, women, children, ethnic and religious minorities on its hands.
So, in response to your question, I say that this flag neither represents me nor my country. The true Iranian flag symbolizes light, life, and prosperity. It has withstood thousands of years of upheaval, and I believe that someday it will once again be raised in my country by the brave men and women of Iran.
— Mahtab Tehrani, post-doctoral fellow in anatomy and neurobiology
How flags are selected: Each year, students respond to a survey in which they can identify a nation they’d like to include in the flag display. Based on the submissions from students, flags are pulled from the United Nations’ list of member states, using the official flag displayed there.