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In April, students created a display on Kimball Quad meant to “promote critical thought and discussion while also commemorating and memorializing all those who have died as a result of the war in Iraq.” These students had been disturbed by the silence on campus about the war. The display was made up of 1,000 green stakes, representing Iraqi deaths in the war, and 26 white stakes, representing the number of American casualties of the war. The stakes were hammered into the ground in front of Kimball in neat rows.
Two days later, a sign which explained the display was torn down and an American flag with a new sign was put up in its place. That sign read “Freedom is not free.” The students who had set up the display accepted the action as dialogue and left the sign and flag hanging.
The next evening, all of the stakes representing Iraqi deaths were ripped out of the ground. Organizers of the original display decided to leave the stakes in disarray, stoking the debate over the war and broadening the discussion to include issues of free speech.
The destruction of the display brought indignation from students, faculty, staff and administrators, and led to the decision to schedule a campus forum on April 11, to allow people to address the issues: the Iraq War and its implications; the centrality of free speech; and the imperative that the campus be a place where respectful, serious and thoughtful dialogue can take place. A panel of faculty and students offered reflections, and audience members contributed questions and comments.
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