Tufts will display its own memorial for the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC when "Patches for Peace," a committee spearheaded by Hillel, hangs a quilt made by student groups in the campus center within the next two months.
The idea originated from a brainstorming session at Hillel the evening of the attacks. Soon after, Hillel members formed a committee to undertake the project. Students felt a quilt would be an ideal programmatic response, because it would serve as a visual representation of grief and many students would be able to participate.
"Patches for Peace is a Hillel-initiated, campus-wide program intended to
unite our diverse backgrounds and interests together as one community living in peace," said Rachel Kaplan, Hillel's vice president of outreach one of the project's organizers.
"It's a lot of fabric - a lot of little pieces - but when you put them together you're really uniting the community," she added.
The committee first considered working specifically with Muslim student groups, according to Rachel Bikofsky, a sophomore member of Patches for Peace. "We wanted to make it perfectly clear that we weren't holding it against them," she said. "Then we decided we should do something with everyone."
For the past two weeks, committee members have contacted student organizations and encouraged them to submit patches. The quilt has room for 110 squares, of which 82 have been reserved.
Student groups are also supporting the project in other ways. Residents of the Crafts House volunteered to sew the patches together, and Hillel will seek buffer funding for the project from the Tufts Community Union Senate. Hillel also hopes to receive grants from outside organizations.
"The response to this is more than we ever imagined," sophomore committee member Richard Kalman said.
Kaplan said the administration was also enthusiastic about the prospect of the quilt's presence in the campus center. The 126 square-foot banner will likely become a permanent fixture on the now-empty wall next to the information booth.
"This project has received overwhelming support from the committee, the participating student organizations, and the Office of Student Activities," Kaplan said. "People have really come together for this."
The committee is putting together a larger program in conjunction with the official unveiling and hanging of the quilt. Plans are in the works for a dinner and dialogue session with representatives from each of the participating groups, as well as bringing in a political speaker.
"We're looking for someone who will bring the campus together and not split it apart with his views," Kalman said. "It should be someone who is interesting enough that a lot of people would want to come."
Although she was not involved with the project's inception, Hillel President Brooke Menschel said she is impressed with the committee's progress.
"I give real credit to the group that came up with this idea and has run with it," Menschel said. "I hope this is a legacy of unity at Tufts for a long time to come.
