A 9/11 memorial flag display was allegedly disturbed by multiple vandals caught on surveillance footage. On September 11, University of Virginia participated in Young America’s Foundation’s 9/11: Never Forget Project, planting 2,977 flags, one for each innocent murdered by radical Islamic terrorists.
UVA is the fourth school to report vandalism to YAF, an unusually large number of these instances.
According to UVA’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter, their display was in disarray Saturday evening. Flags were removed from the ground and strewn about, their table was flipped over, and a 9/11: Never Forget Project was thrown on the ground outside of a bar.
The students called campus police who reviewed the surveillance footage. Police saw two vandals flip the table on the camera, according to the chapter members.
“I find it disheartening that some students are not able to understand the tragedies of 9/11. This year being the 20th Anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks, it was especially important to honor and remember the 2,977 lives lost,” UVA YAF Chair Nick Cabrera said.
“I pray for those that flipped our table and worked to remove our flags. I pray that they will eventually understand their precious American freedoms, rather than acting on hatefulness and undermining the Terrorist Attacks of 9/11/2001,” he continued.
“Though our table was flipped, and flags removed by 2 students, YAF at UVA will continue to remember and never forget those that we lost on this day, 20 years ago.”
While disappointing, the display’s destruction was far from surprising, considering some students’ visceral reactions to the memorial.
Friday night, YAF reported that Michigan State University’s display was vandalized with spray paint.
Saturday afternoon, YAF reported on a student government representative who ripped flags from the ground at Washington University and stuffed them in trash bags to “protest American imperialism.” Saturday evening, YAF reported that Mount Holyoke College’s display has been vandalized as well, with “There is blood on U.S. hands” written beneath the display and original chalk writing smeared away.
This is unacceptable. It’s been 20 years since September 11, 2001. Almost everyone in college cannot remember the events of that day—if they were even born yet. Clearly, we have failed to teach our children, and worse, we have failed to remember.
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