Great news! Southern Methodist University in Texas has reversed its decision to relocate an annual 9/11 memorial display made up of nearly 3,000 American flags to a less prominent part of campus after facing backlash from student groups.

A huge thank you to The Young Americans for Freedom group! They had a hand in making this happen! They also were the ones who had set up the tribute honoring the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on SMU’s Dallas Hall Lawn every year since 2010.

But in July officials informed the group to move the display to Morrison-McGinnis Park because Dallas Hall Lawn is used for classes and a variety of events, said university spokesman Kent Best.

SMU officials also had adopted a policy to ensure displays didn’t include ‘harmful or triggering’ messages, but they later removed the language from the then-policy as inappropriate. By that time, though, some student groups said the new policy was an attack on free speech.

‘I don’t believe it’s the responsibility of the university to shield individuals from certain ideas that they might be offended by,‘ said Grant Wolf, the leader of the Young Americans for Freedom group, according to Dallas News.
Wolf, along with other leaders from campus groups, sent a letter to university President R. Gerald Turner to express their frustration with the policy.
‘People absolutely have to have a right to their own opinions, but this does not come with a right to be shielded from opposing ideas, especially in an environment dedicated to the learning, sharing and developing of new ideas,’ they wrote.

They decried the relocation of the memorial. Moving the 9/11 memorial to an out of the way park is almost the same as not allowing it, said Heather Hall, president of the university’s Turning Point USA chapter.
‘That’s not free speech,’ Hall said. ‘That’s not American. That’s definitely not what SMU stands for.’  Read more:  Daily Mail

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The shocker about this is that students on both sides of the political spectrum want the 9/11 flags to be displayed where they’ve always been displayed. The inability of college campuses to stand up to people who are perpetually offended is a sad statement on where we are in American tolerance these days. It’s so ironic that the left wants you to march to their drum beat or else they will destroy you. Note to SMU: You had a good thing going with your student body coming together to memorialize 9/11 so let it continue!

DALLAS, Tex. – In a time of extreme political divide, students both Republican and Democrat at one Texas college have found something they can agree on.

For the past two years at Southern Methodist University, a campus group has planted thousands of American flags in front of Dallas Hall as a memorial to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

“That’s simply contradictory to the very definition of free speech,” said Grant Wolf, the Young Americans for Freedom Chairman.

But in July, SMU changed its policy, saying student groups can no longer have displays there.

The lawn has historically hosted tributes and protests from students of all political affiliations. The leaders of two prominent student groups say the policy violates their right to free speech.

“They’re basically cornering us into a segment of campus and saying you’re not allowed to have a display here because it’s triggering, harmful or offensive to students over there,” said Drew Wicker, the President of SMU College Republicans.

SMU released a statement saying nearby Momac Park, where displays will be allowed, is larger than the lawn and is along one of the most prominent drives on campus.

The university said it “respects the rights of all campus community members to express their opinions, as well as their right to be free from coercion or harassment.”

Via: Fox 5 Atlanta

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