Add Category
Members of other fraternities had a rosier view of the party, saying it was simply about uniting around patriotism.
Zachary Serinsky, 19, a sophomore at the University of North Carolina, and an Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity member, said that he felt like the counterprotest in April was being made “into a joke” because of the party. Credit: Todd Heisler/The New York Times
Jason Calderon, a sophomore and the president of the university’s Zeta Beta Tau chapter, told reporters during a Zoom news conference on Wednesday that “the outpouring of people interested in coming to the event, and the outpouring of support” from UNC students had been overwhelming.
The news conference was organised by the public relations team for John Rich, a country singer who will perform at the party along with Aaron Lewis and Lee Greenwood, whose song God Bless the U.S.A. is played at Trump’s rallies.
Calderon said that Flagstock was supposed to be “about coming together, rather than separating people apart”.
Alpha Epsilon Pi members said that about 15 of those defending the flag on April 30 were from their fraternity but that members of other fraternities stood with them. They added that they respected the rights of pro-Palestinian groups to protest.
UNC Students for Justice in Palestine, a pro-Palestinian group that had members at the April protest, said in a statement that removing the American flag was “a valid form of protest against the atrocities the US and Israel are inflicting on Palestinians”.
Brendan Rosenblum, a senior at the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill, N.C.Credit: Todd Heisler/The New York Times
Many of the fraternity members on the campus quadrangle that day, Alpha Epsilon Pi members noted, had come to show support for Israel and their Jewish faith.
“You have this huge party with all of these people honouring us for what we did for the flag,” said Brendan Rosenblum, 23, a senior and a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, “but not as much honouring us for the Jewish piece that was the original reason we were all there.”
Noonan, who worked for the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush, among other jobs in Republican circles said during the news conference that “our brains are trained to think charitable donations good, giant frat rager is bad and frivolous”.
On Monday, he stood in a VIP tent where fraternity brothers would later pour beer from an ice luge — an ice block with a channel carved into it — in the shape of the state of North Carolina. Nearby were smiling Hooters waitresses, cornhole boards (for beanbag toss games) emblazoned with American flags and red Solo cups for beer pong.
Noonan said Monday that he had started the GoFundMe campaign “to buy these guys a couple kegs and make my friends laugh. I obviously did not know it was going to turn into this”.
According to the GoFundMe page, some of the proceeds will go to several charities, including Back the Blue NC, which supports law enforcement, Wounded Warrior Project and Zeta Beta Tau’s foundation that combats antisemitism. Susan Ralston, who is helping organise the party and used to work in Republican politics, including as a White House liaison for George W. Bush during his 2004 reelection campaign, said she and Noonan would disclose how much money went to charity after the party.
GoFundMe said in a statement that “fundraiser organisers are prohibited from utilising the funds raised for any purpose other than what is clearly outlined in the campaign description.”
Conservatives’ treatment of the fraternity brothers as heroes continued after the viral moment. Seven of them appeared at the Republican National Convention in July carrying American flags. Alex Johnson, 20, a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, said in a speech at the convention that “when a mob tried to take down the American flag on our campus, we knew we couldn’t let that happen”.
Shortly after the Republican convention, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel shouted out the fraternity members while delivering a speech to Congress in Washington, eliciting chants of “USA! USA!”
Zachary Serinsky, 19, a sophomore chemistry major and member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, said that he felt as if the counterprotest in April was being made “into a joke” because of the party.
“We went through this horrific day, we were there supporting our faith, our beliefs, and then also supporting America,” Serinsky said. “To put all that money toward a party feels kind of like a slap in the face.”
He did not plan on attending.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.