The flags of six nations -- the United States, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain and Finland -- fly at the town burial grounds in Ephraim. Snow College's Hispanic Student Association wants the city's cemetery board to make room for one more.

But despite the fact that central Utah was once part of Mexico, that Hispanics are buried in the cemetery, and that Latinos of Mexican descent have contributed mightily to the city's growth and vibrancy, the students' request to add a Mexican flag to the display has been denied.

City councilman and cemetery board member Terry Lund explained that the cemetery is the exclusive domain of the national flags of the town founders.

Mormon pioneers of primarily Scandinavian stock were sent to this hardscrabble land in the 1850s with instructions to paint the desert green. They flooded the fields, constructed a fort, fought the native Americans and built a city that has grown to more than 5,100, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Lund has made a counteroffer. He said Latinos are welcome to fly the Mexican flag at Canyon View Park when construction is completed. But allowing the flag to unfurl at the cemetery, he said, is like inviting motorcycles into a skateboard park.

You can argue that no slur is intended, that the monument is purely historical and the request is hysterical. But why argue? Why not just add a flag for all people who have played a role in Ephraim's evolution from frontier town to a modern, ethnically diverse community?

The students just want Latinos to be honored as part of the cultural quilt that the town has become. They want their presence -- 9.9 percent of the population was of Hispanic descent in 2000 and that percentage will surely grow when the 2010 census figures are announced -- to be acknowledged. And they want their contributions to be recognized.

Furthermore, they asked respectfully, and in an appropriate manner. They gathered signatures on a petition and presented it for consideration. And next year, association member Marsha Morales said, they'll gather even more signatures and try again.

Lund's skateboard park comparison is a weak analogy. A flag is a flag, right is right and the cemetery board is just plain wrong. The cost to raise a Mexican flag would be minuscule, the effort would be minimal, but the gesture would be well-received.

While the names of the dead are set in stone, the cemetery board's policies don't have to be.