11/11/2016
To those upset or hurt by the College Republicans' Berlin Wall Memorial:
First, I would like to point out that the Berlin Wall Memorial is an annual event for our club, and has been for several years now, as long as I have been at Muhlenberg and for years before. The event is not related to the election whatsoever, and rather than do the event on November 9, the actual day of the fall of the Wall, we chose to put it up a few days later out of concern that our presence may be a source of discomfort for some students in the wake of the election results.
The wall is not supposed to be a partisan statement - it is simply a remembrance of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Any student is free to come and spray paint whatever message they see fit on the wall - from to , to more lighthearted messages, we have had many community members spray paint various messages throughout the day.
It has come to my attention that one member of the club spray painted over a Love Trumps Hate message that was added to the wall and this conduct was immediately determined by myself, the president of the club, to be disrespectful and unacceptable. Members manning the table have been instructed to refrain from such behavior, but I apologize on the club's behalf for this incident. While any writing on the wall is bound to be covered up by other messages as the day goes on, deliberate censorship is unacceptable.
The wall was not meant to cause such controversy and we apologize for any offense that may have been caused. We hope members of the campus community will use the wall throughout the day to voice any speech they see fit and feel safe doing so. If anyone has any additional concerns, please feel free to reach out to me and I am happy to discuss them with you.
Respectfully and sincerely,
Kate Rael '17
President, Muhlenberg College Republicans