A 9/11 memorial at Occidental College in Eagle Rock was vandalized, members of the College Republican Club said.
About 3,000 flags meant to represent victims of the terrorist attacks that adorned the campus quad were found “crushed, snapped” and thrown in the garbage early Monday, according to a Facebook post by the club.
“Not one was left in the ground,” the post said. “Not only did they destroy the memorial, they put posters and fliers up that shamed the victims of 9/11.”
The flier read “R.I.P. The 2,996 Americans who died in 9/11. R.I.P. the 1,455,590 innocent Iraqis who died during the U.S. invasion for something they didn’t do,” a photo on Facebook showed.
Students later took the flags out of the trash and guarded the memorial when four other students came up to them and snapped a few flags.
The vandals then got away.
“We ask that all students respect the memorial for the remainder of its time in the quad. If you try to destroy it, we will rebuild it,” the Facebook post said.
Campus police are investigating and expect to report any student suspects to the campus disciplinary committee. The college is handling the vandalism as an internal matter.
“The right and freedom to debate complex, contentious issues and disagree with each other is fundamental to what we do at Oxy,” said Erica O’Neal Howard, acting dean of students, in a statement. “At the same time, we may not express ourselves in ways that prevent others from engaging in protected speech.”
Anyone with information about the incident can contact college officials at conduct@oxy.edu.