This week, two fences were put up on campus to raise awareness about immigration in the United States. With University permission, one was put in front of a walkway leading to the library and the other was put at the base of the stairs leading up to the student center.
On Tuesday, controversy struck up over the mock walls on campus from supporters of presidential candidate, Donald Trump. Students of Social Justice (SSJ) made and set the walls in place to educate students, faculty, and staff of John Carroll about immigration and human rights. Some students thought of this as a political movement and spoke out with their opinions that night. The backlash started with “Trump 2016” chalked in front of the fences and campaign posters stapled over the educational information on the wall. When a student defended mock wall by pouring water over the chalk writing, Trump supporters began spitting on the fence.
Further, political views then began to be debated from students on both sides of the mock wall and the debate was intense with strong feelings from both points of view. On Wednesday, the campus awoke with several chalk drawings in support of Trump all over campus sidewalks, statues, and walls. This stirred up emotion and it seemed that everyone was talking about it all day long. Wednesday night came and there was a peaceful rally in support of the walls, hosted by LASA and SSJ who announced that they simply want to educate and have dialogue with anyone who believes the mock wall project was an innapropriate action. This event included music and dancing which showed that everyone was welcome and that they do not want to fight.
All over campus it has been debated whether or not John Carroll was right in how they handled the situation. Many said they feel that JCU administration simply has liberal political views which is why the Trump chalkings were so hastily removed. Others say it was necessary to erase the chalk because of the amount tours and visitors that the university sees daily. It is up to individual opinion in regards to that claim, however, these occurrences have shown how important, and yet how detrimental, having a strong opinion can be. When considering any form of politics, it is imperative to remember that everyone is entitled to their own opinion even if it differs from another. Overall, the mock walls raised awareness about immigration in the John Carroll community so it is safe to say that their purpose was successful.