The Brandeis Immigration Education Initiative installed a series of silhouettes last week featuring messages they hoped would spark dialogue around immigration and education issues. 

    Yet, shortly after the figures popped up across campus, nearly all of them were vandalized. 

 Of the eight silhouettes installed, only two remained standing while the rest were damaged or went missing completely at the hands of unknown culprit(s). 

   This board condemns the actions of the vandals as not only disrespectful toward the students who worked on the installation, but also an unconstructive means of expressing their assumed viewpoint. Eliminating a voice from the campus discourse entirely, rather than engaging and actively critiquing it, does a disservice to the Brandeis community.

   To one silhouette that read, “No human being is illegal,” a paper sign was attached which read, “Some residents are illegal. (Yes they are still human). Protect our borders!” 

    Unlike the destructive acts of vandalism carried out on some of the other silhouettes, the response to the silhouettes of appending a sign stating a dissenting idea turns a singular message—BIEI’s installations—into the possibility for dialogue. 

    The project was intended to ignite conversations about immigration issues among students on their way to and from classes, meals and activities but removing the signs from campus impedes this potential discourse. 

 Those responsible for the vandalism could take a cue from BIEI, which reacted to the destruction with calls for constructive discourse. Club leader Margaret Much-Hichos ’15 described the incident in a post on a Facebook page the group created to advertise Immigration Awareness Week. 

  She called the incident “an opportunity to allow conversation and understanding” and added, “We should really talk about this in the proper setting,” before urging students to come to the week’s events where immigration issues were explored in a respectful environment.

  The fact that so many students on our campus care about important political issues should be a source of pride. That being said, a passionate student body is practically worthless if those same students lack the ability to express their opinions in a meaningful way.

  There are many methods of communicating an opposing opinion that don’t involve defacing the hard work of fellow students—figuring out how to engage in productive discourse around difficult topics and respecting the views of those with whom they may disagree are goals every member of the community should prioritize.