Posted on 09/20/2007 8:15:13 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
Student tears Mexican flag; suspect remains at large
9/19/07
by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
A student took down a Mexican flag from a flagpole outside Scholes Hall Monday, tore it and took it to the Air Force ROTC office, police said.
A summons was issued for Peter Lynch, 30, by the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court for criminal damage to property, said Lt. Pat Davis, spokesman for UNM Police.
Davis said Lynch is not a member of ROTC, and it is unclear why he took the flag to that office.
Lynch has not been charged because UNMPD cannot find him, Davis said.
UNMPD investigated the vandalism as a potential hate crime, but witnesses from the ROTC office told police it was not a racially motivated crime, Davis said.
"He was frustrated a foreign flag was flown without an American flag nearby," he said. "We're basically investigating it on witness statements."
The Mexican Student Association raised the flag outside Scholes Hall on Friday for Mexican Independence Day, said Cheo Torres, vice president for academic affairs.
Mabel Gonzales, president of the Mexican Student Association, declined to comment.
Torres and interim vice president for institutional diversity Rita Martinez-Purson issued an apology Tuesday from the University for the incident.
"This sort of incident hurts everyone," Torres said. "It's something that you don't expect to see at a place like the University of New Mexico where we celebrate diversity."
Martinez-Purson said the incident caught her off-guard, as well.
"I don't think anything really prepares you for this type of vindictive behavior," she said. "Obviously, we need to have strong dialog across campus about respect for other people and their cultures."
Whether the vandalism was racially motivated or not, it was offensive, especially to the Hispanic community, Martinez-Purson said.
"There's still an impact that has to be dealt with," she said. "He did insult them. His thoughtless behavior had consequences."
The University won't tolerate that kind of behavior, President David Schmidly said.
"It's inexcusable to desecrate a flag," he said. "I'm not going to be very pleasant to deal with on this issue."
What makes the situation worse is that it was a Mexican flag, Schmidly said.
"For God's sake, New Mexico was part of Mexico at one time," he said. "There's tremendous ties, and we have a large population of Hispanics that live in our state and many of them have relatives and connections to Mexico."
Helloooooooooooooooo there!
We all thank-you for defending our flag!
Kudos for your actions Pete ~
Agree with your stand against theft.......I just don’t think it was intended as theft . Stealing isn’t tolerated here as well.......:o)
Hope yer well , Stay Safe ~
I am Peter Lynch... Really me...
I am Peter Lynch, I appreciate the support, and as soon as possible, I will tell you all about it. Obviously, I need to be very careful about what I say at this point. Just know that this was not a mindless act. The only reason they know who I am is that I proudly told them, and turned myself in as soon as I saw the article. As far as monitory assistance I am a struggling student at UNM I cannot afford legal counsel.
Just keep us posted as to what is happening when you can.
You get a big 2 thumbs up from me!
Well, Peter if that is really you, I don’t envy you! What can we do to help?
I find it curious that the same folks who defend the Mexican flag being displayed in lieu of ours, just come undone if they see a confederate flag. Like the ACLU
Keep your wits about you- and know there are many thousands of Americans who stand with you!
Hang tight.
They are called suspects!!!! THEY ARE HEROES!
LOL!
I take the maximum dosage!
I's called a dictionary.
Just saying.
BUMP!
Thanks for standing up for your country!
Why would Mexican flags be flying over tax supported American institutions anyway?
If the MF’ers want to live under a Mexican flag, they should carry their sorry asses to Mexico.
Go Peter!
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