Earlier this week, DePauw's chapter of Students for Life of America organization installed the Cemetery of the Innocent on the East College lawn. As any demonstration tackling a hot button like abortion, it was understandably met with a wide range of emotions. Less than 24 hours later, the crosses were trampled - some even inverted and staked back into the ground - in another display of vandalism and intolerance. Campus conversation was stifled yet again.
To be clear, I do not personally hold the same sentiments symbolized in the Cemetery of the Innocent. But I do, however, find merit in the Students for Life's willingness to put forth their views in such a public space. For these students, this is their means of activism for an issue they deeply believe in. And whether you agree with them or not, the expression of a plurality of voices forms the very basis of our discourse.
That's why the destruction of the Cemetery is more damaging than those dozens of tiny white crosses. Whether motivated by the need to make a political statement or drunken debauchery, the vandalism discourages other public demonstrations around other critical contemporary debates. As a result, our intellectual life - one founded in creating a respectful, deliberative space - becomes all the more diluted. In comparison with our peer institutions, DePauw's overall culture of campus activism appears lackluster.
The damage done this week might partially explain why we choose not to publicly engage, especially in large-scale exhibits like the Cemetery of the Innocent. It's just one example many instances of recent acts of vandalism - from the crude comments written on Code TEAL's rape culture posters to the defacing of student art sculptures.
While we claim to be a student body committed to probing all of the complexities of our world's problems, for the most part, it appears that these important discussions are confined to our classrooms, symposiums and casual chatter in the Hub. While I find displays like Students for Life's perhaps overly dramatic, there's no denying that it was affective in earning a reaction. That reaction, and the dialogue that arises out of it, has the potential to spark change on campus, in the community and beyond.
When we graduate, we reemerge to a world that's increasingly partisan, where it's us versus them, without an in-between. Our media condition an environment where it's easy to consume only the opinions of people with whom we already agree. How do we grow - intellectually and as a society - if the counterargument is tuned out?
Your college years are intended to challenge you. To make you uncomfortable. To confront you with aspects you've never before considered. To reaffirm truths you already acknowledge. To present you with perspectives that you fundamentally oppose. It's an invaluable time. Let's not waste it.
- Brelage is a senior from Indianapolis, Ind. majoring in English writing.