EUGENE — Eugene, a university town known for its countercultural ways, is catching heat over a debate within the City Council over whether to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at meetings.

One council member, Mike Clark, suggested several weeks ago that the council begin reciting the pledge at every meeting. The council compromised, voting this week to recite the pledge at four meetings: those closest to Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day and the Fourth of July.

Clark had proposed reciting the pledge at every meeting as a counterbalance to some of Eugene’s traditions. He specifically mentioned the annual Eugene Celebration, a three-day event the city launched in 1983 that features music, various performances, a parade and a “slug queen” created as a humorous reference to the shell-less cousin of the snail common in Eugene and many parts of Oregon.

Clark said some Eugene residents may not like the event but they tolerate it. The resistance to reciting the pledge makes them feel like they are not being given the same liberty, he said.

“Something they value in that way is met with hostility,” Clark said before Monday’s vote. “Tolerating those differences is an important part of the community we live in. It has become an issue of tolerance to a certain degree.”

By the end of Tuesday, City Hall had weathered a small flood of mostly hostile e-mails and phone calls about the vote, The Register-Guard reported Wednesday.

‘Communist’ council

Nearly all the communications were from out-of-state residents, including some who said they would boycott Eugene because of the council’s decision. Many of the comments were emotional, and some were profanity-laced.

Loren Pierce of Reno, Nev., wrote that he decided to move a large family reunion away from Eugene, and called the council “communist.”

But Pierce, an Air Force veteran, told The Associated Press on Wednesday he was simply frustrated because the nation is still fighting a war in Afghanistan and he felt reciting the pledge was a small thing to ask of a city council as a public display of national unity.

“Even though it may be minor in some people’s eyes, it adds up,” Pierce said. “If you don’t want to say it, just stand there.”

The Register-Guard said the comments came after a Fox News crew was sent to Eugene from Seattle to cover the vote.

Fox reporter Dan Springer, whose live broadcasts were shown regularly throughout Tuesday on television and on Fox’s website, characterized the council’s action as a vote to resist saying the pledge on a regular basis. The decision “made nobody happy,” Springer said.

Clark said Tuesday he was “shocked by the tone” of people on both sides of the pledge issue.

“This shouldn’t be a fight about patriotism,” he said. “The discussion of this, I would hope, should be about the tolerance of people who have different points of view.”

Clark, who talked about the council decision with conservative commentator and Portland radio host Lars Larson on Tuesday afternoon, said he was happy with the council’s decision.

“I’m willing to compromise and take this first step at doing something positive,” he said.