Ouachita’s flag plaza stands proudly in the central area of campus. It flies a total of nine flags, three of which are taller and remain standing permanently and six smaller flags that are rotated out every Monday. Located on the corner of campus, the flag plaza is fairly centralized, and the vast majority of students will walk past it at some point during their day. It’s such a common part of daily life at Ouachita, but its meaning and symbolism is so much more than just nine flags that fly on campus.
Grant Memorial Hall, which housed several administrative offices, was torn down in 1995 in the location that the flag plaza would soon be built. The offices previously in Grant Memorial Hall were moved to Cone-Bottoms as the project underwent three years of teardown and building. Cone-Bottoms was remodeled and occupied in 1995. In 1998, Ouachita had its very own flag plaza in a centralized area that saw high traffic in students. The class of 1998 decided that they wanted to be a part of this new Ouachita attraction, so as a senior gift, they gave the school a world map located on the side of the plaza.
“The flag plaza was built to demonstrate Ouachita’s connection with the rest of the world,” said Phil Hardin, assistant to the president of administration at OBU.
The flag plaza serves as a constant reminder to students. Three of the nine flags flown pertain to the vast majority of Ouachita students. The Ouachita flag, Arkansas state flag and the American flag are flown permanently on campus. Six of the nine flags are reminders for a much smaller group of Ouachita students. These flags fly for students who are studying abroad. It stands to keep them in students’ prayers and thoughts daily. The flag plaza flies international students’ home flags, while they are attending OBU. It shows support and care for fellow students. ESL students are also thought of when the flags go up every Monday. ESL stands for English as a Second Language, so those who are here at OBU learning English are represented by the flags as well.
The flags also fly for missionary children, some of whom are currently attending OBU, and they fly for missionaries with ties to OBU who are out among the world.
“We currently rotate twenty-four flags, six per week,” said Gwen Crangle, office manager for facilities management at Ouachita. “We communicate with the Grant Center, and they let us know which countries will be represented through foreign students each year.”
The twenty-four flags are recycled as students from across the globe attend Ouachita each year.
“We have Ouachita alumni around the world. This is also a connection to them,” Hardin said.
The flags provide a link to alumni serving as missionaries throughout the world. Each flag serves as a reminder to keep those serving in your thoughts and prayers as they spread ministry in areas that do not know Christianity. A student thinking of going into missions could see a flag and feel a strong calling to that country, sparking inspiration from something as simple as a flag plaza.
Dylan Bester, a sophomore from South Africa, is at Ouachita to get his degree. Bester returns home only once a year, during the summer months, so homesickness is fairly common for him.
“Homesickness is kind of situational for me. Sometimes my parents send me things that are happening at home and it kind of just hits,” Bester said.
The South African flag is currently within the rotation of flags at Ouachita.
“It definitely stands out to me. It’s not so much of a reminder, more so a symbol of national pride for me,” Bester said, “I do notice every time they put out the South African flag.”
Ouachita will continue to build on this tradition of respecting those attending from outside the United States. The flag collection will continue to add to its repertoire as students from around the globe seek education at OBU.
By Will Blase, Staff Writer
