Monday, September 9, 2002

Berkeley Goes Red, White, and Blue After Flap Over Campus's Patriotism By MEGAN ROONEY A decision by a committee of students and administrators to hand out white -- rather than red-white-and-blue -- ribbons at a memorial event marking the anniversary of September 11 ALSO SEE: Students Unaffected by September 11 in Choosing Colleges, Study Finds 34 Colleges Announce Events to Mark the Anniversary of September 11 A Special Report: One Year Later at the University of California at Berkeley sparked a tempest there last week after a conservative student newspaper accused the university of a lack of patriotism. The administration denied the charge, but in the end, Berkeley's chancellor overrode the committee's decision and decreed that American colors would rule the day. Students and administrators at Berkeley have been planning the anniversary commemoration for several weeks, and the program for Wednesday is extensive. Bells will toll to mark the moments at which the four planes crashed last September 11, the campus will pause for a moment of silence at noon, and the University Religious Council will sponsor an interfaith meditation session. A student chorus and orchestra will give a concert. An open microphone will be available on the steps of Sproul Hall for students to share their thoughts, and the day will close with a candlelight vigil. "What we wanted to be sure to convey was a program that would be reflective, that would honor and commemorate those who died and who tried to save lives," said Janet Gilmore, a university spokeswoman. The element of the day's events that caused unrest last week was perhaps the smallest part of the entire plan: the color of the ribbons that were to be handed out to students. According to Rong-Gong Lin II, editor in chief of The Daily Californian, Berkeley's independent student-run newspaper, a committee made up of undergraduate representatives and university administrators strategized some of the day's events and originally decided to distribute red-white-and-blue ribbons to students. But a graduate-student representative pointed out that some Berkeley students could feel excluded by this choice of colors. "Not everyone who was affected by September 11 was American," Mr. Lin said. "Some people felt this shouldn't be a day of exclusiveness." The committee concurred and decided that white ribbons would be a better choice. "This is when matters got far beyond the issue at hand," Mr. Lin said. Another student-run newspaper on the campus, the conservative California Patriot, published an article last Wednesday claiming that the September 11 commemoration would exclude all patriotic symbols and religious references. The newspaper's publisher, Kelso G. Barnett, then gave a speech at a meeting of the undergraduate assembly defending patriotism, the national anthem, and the American flag. Someone sent a copy of the Patriot's article to the online Drudge Report, and the national media came calling. The chancellor, Robert M. Berdahl, learned of the controversy after news organizations began contacting his office on Thursday, according to Ms. Gilmore. At a news conference that day, he called the Patriot's allegation that Berkeley is unpatriotic "outrageous" and "an insult to everyone at this university." "The noon events planned for this September 11 are to be a memorial, also marked by contemplative music and prayerful thought to honor those murdered a year ago," Mr. Berdahl said. "We believe it would be a disservice to those who died to allow this memorial to become a political rally of any kind, for any purpose. ... The California Patriot, not the university, is trying to turn this into a political event." And according to Mr. Lin, of The Daily Californian, before the news conference, Mr. Berdahl overruled the choice of white ribbons and said that red-white-and-blue ribbons would be handed out instead. The administration's reason for switching the color of the ribbons was simple generosity, Ms. Gilmore said. It was Mr. Berdahl's understanding that "there was a financial reason for choosing the white ribbons," she said. "So he said that he was happy to pick up the cost to provide red-white-and-blue ribbons." But at least one student leader disagrees. "It's true that [white ribbons] are cheaper," Jessica Quindel, president of Berkeley's graduate-student assembly, told The Daily Californian. "But I was at the meetings, and the decisions had nothing to do with the prices." When asked if the university was mandating its preferred ribbon color on students who had chosen otherwise, Ms. Gilmore declined to comment, instead pointing out that the open-mike session would allow students to share any feelings they might have about the day, including any patriotic songs they might want to sing. An American flag will also be on display at a central campus location. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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