By Shereen Ashai, News Editor
Early in November, students walking the halls may have stumbled across a large black wall in the front lobby obstructing their paths to their next class. This large barrier, assembled from cardboard boxes, was River Hill’s reconstruction of the Berlin Wall to honor the 25th anniversary of its demolition.
For thirty years, the Berlin Wall divided the east and the west, separating families and preventing them from job opportunities. The Deutsche Demokratische Republik des Deutshlands (DDR) built the concrete wall in 1961 to prevent the East Berliners from escaping to the western sector. The wall divided a state and its people, which is an effect still seen today.
Similarly, the River Hill version of the wall divided students when they entered the school. By placing it in the middle of the lobby, students were forced to walk around the barrier by choosing a side to go through.
Twenty-eight years later, on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, marking the reunification of Germany. Eventually, crowds began swarming the wall with hammers, attempting to chip away pieces of concrete. Many Europeans saved the graffiti covered fragments of the wall as a souvenir to remember this iconic moment. River Hill’s recreation of the wall also included graffiti and quotes that were painted by students.
River Hill German teacher Kristin Malone, instructed her students to represent some aspect of freedom, known as freiheit in German, on the wall. Some students like Ariana Kaputos chose to recreate famous pieces of the Berlin Wall. Others, like Lauren Beckjord, took artistic liberty by creating a barbed fire that turned into flying doves.
Senior Sammi Cowan, explained that most of the quotes incorporated into the design “were actually written on the Berlin Wall.” This allowed the barrier to have a more realistic appearance.
However, the group faced a few limitations along the way. Cowan explained that the students worked long hours on Saturday, November 8th to build the wall. Along the way, they also had to abide by administration guidelines. Ms. Malone originally intended to build the wall without an opening, which could have caused some concerns.
According to Ms. Malone, the intention of the wall was to allow River Hill students “to search for empathy, not sympathy” and “to think about the walls that still exist in today’s society.” She explains that although the walls “might not be tangible, but they are ever present.”