Occidental College responds to 9/11 memorial vandalism

Occidental College has identified and taken action against students who defiled a 9/11 memorial earlier this year, according to a prepared statement, but officials declined to release additional details.

“Federal and state privacy laws prevent the college from disclosing details about the investigation, the findings or the sanctions,” according to the statement. “The primary objective of the college’s disciplinary process is to educate students about the effects and consequences of their actions so that they understand the rights and responsibilities of being a member of the Occidental College community.”

Occidental, a private college, did not release the names of those involved or the measures taken. College President Jonathan Veitch declined to comment.

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The student who organized the 15th anniversary 9/11 memorial, which included rows of small flags symbolizing the fallen, said he was not given additional information.

“I had heard that students were being investigated,” said Alan Bliss, 20, a member of the Conservatives of Occidental College. “But I [still] don’t know whether students admitted wrongdoing or if they’re being disciplined.”

Borrowing a phrase from former Occidental student Barack Obama, the private college pledged to turn this into a “teachable moment.”

Plans include a roundtable discussion about free speech on campus, a play that challenges “preconceived notions about issues such as race, class and the law” and a film series that will “expose students to a variety of perspectives on 9/11.”

“I’d like to be able to trust the college, so I want to see if Oxy follows through on creating a discourse on free speech,” Bliss said.

The incident started prior to Sept. 11 of this year, when the conservatives’ club invited students to plant 2,997 small U.S. flags to commemorate those killed in 2001.

“We had people [volunteering] who were walking by or going to the library,” Bliss said. “People of all backgrounds helped — women, men, black, white, Asian, Latino. We probably had more liberals and Democrats than conservatives and Republicans planting flags.”

The display was A-political, he said, featuring no messages beyond honoring the dead.

After the flags were planted, someone broke, smashed and threw many of them in the trash. They were replanted and then defaced two more times, once in daylight the next day. Vandals reportedly rode over the flags on their bikes.

Bliss said requests to the campus public safety department to help protect the display went unanswered.

College spokesman Jim Tranquada said records show that campus safety received only one call after midnight on Sept. 11 “to file a complaint.”

When asked why safety officials were not posted to guard the display from further damage, Tranquada said that Occidental “does not have the resources” to protect both a display in the quad and the entire campus.

The college condemned the vandalism. Veitch, the college president, released a statement on Sept. 13:

“This incident has been defended by some as an act of protected speech. It is not. It is an act of defilement that is deeply offensive to the memory of those who died on Sept. 11. And it violates the free speech of others, a principle we must hold dear as members of an educational community.”

Bliss said his political views make him “somewhat of an outlier” on the liberal-leaning campus.

“The school’s a little small,” he said. “Word spreads quickly when something happens. I can’t go to a social event without someone approaching me, saying they disagree with my views and hate me for expressing my views. People I don’t know have these preconceived notions about me. It’s been hard, especially after this whole media outburst.”

The Dallas native said he’s also received empathy.

“Teachers have been supportive,” he said. “I love Oxy as much as when I first came here.”

Reflecting on the past several weeks, Bliss said he “absolutely” would do the display again.

“People approached us saying that they lost family in the terrorist attack[s],” he said. “That really put us in a grave mood and [gave us the sense that] this is real. Also, we noticed how long it took to plant 2,997 American flags.

“When you say 2,997, it’s a number. When you’re actually planting that number of flags, you feel how many lives were lost. That made us [feel] sad. It made everyone feel connected. We left the planting in a serious mood and had a moment of silence afterward.”

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Holleran is a contributor to Times Community News.