FARMINGTON – The U.S. flags are gone and the site of last week’s controversial art display at the University of Maine at Farmington is empty, but reactions to it are still reverberating, UMF President Theo Kalikow said Tuesday.

When students return from vacation, there will be a campus discussion about it, she said, followed by talks with the larger community, she said. Once emotions have calmed, a more reasonable discussion can be held, she added.

“It’s a teachable moment that we shouldn’t let go,” Kalikow said. “This isn’t over, but I think this is a very strong community, and I think we’re going to be fine.”

UMF senior Susan Crane of Auburn decided to spread American flags across the floor of the Student Center hall in a zigzag pattern to see if people would step around them or on them, and thereby use the project as a social experiment to gauge how people respond to the flag, she said.

It resulted in a protest, especially by military veterans, against the university and the 40-year-old Crane.

Kalikow spent last weekend responding to what she said were “thousands of e-mails” about the display.

“It was very interesting. A lot were obscene and a lot were horrible, however, when I wrote back to them they would write back and say, ‘I didn’t realize there is another side to this story,’ ” she said.

Although Kalikow admitted she would not have displayed such an exhibit herself, she said her response to alumni and others was that the university has to uphold the First Amendment right to expression and speech, and support every student in the learning process. She also told them about the counterdemonstration held by veterans last week, who were welcomed and listened to with respect, she said.

“All the people who write about their family members in the military makes me think that there probably isn’t any family that doesn’t have some connection to the military. Whether it’s my uncles who served in World War II or students I’d had who served in Vietnam and Desert Storm, I can understand why everyone was so touched and upset,” she said.

Responses from UMF alumni have represented different points of view, said Mary Sylvester, director of alumni relations and university relations.

Sylvester has heard from people who are still upset and also from some alumni who have expressed how proud they were that UMF stood up for the student’s right of expression, she added.

After last week’s news stories, some bloggers suggested that alumni might withdraw financial contributions or students who planned to attend UMF might withdraw.

Blogger Dennis Hanson of Dixfield said Monday that he expected some alumni would feel that way although he didn’t attend UMF himself, he said. Hanson said he responded to the veterans who spoke out.

“My grandfather was a prisoner of war during World War II, and my cousin was injured in Iraq. The flag represents freedom and she has the right to do that, but the flag is sacred,” he said.

“A few people have indicated that they were not interested in making anymore gifts (to the college) but not many,” Sylvester said. “Most were just letting their views be known.”

The admissions office has not seen anything out of character, said Brandon Lagana, director of admissions, when asked if any students had expressed their intention to not attend UMF because of the flag exhibit.

There were a couple e-mails that indicated students would not attend UMF, but the writers of these e-mails had not had any contact with the admissions office prior to last week’s display, he said.