Three students at Yale University were charged on Tuesday in connection with their burning of an American flag that was displayed outside a house near the campus, the New Haven Register reported today. The students — a Greek, a Briton, and an American born in Pakistan — apparently admitted having ignited the flag but described it as a “dumb thing to do,” according to a police report. It was unclear if any ideological statement lay behind the burning, which is being prosecuted as a property crime, not a First Amendment issue. The three, two freshmen and a senior, face charges that include arson, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, and breach of the peace. —Andrew Mytelka