The array of colorful flags in LaFollette Field this week is more than a pretty sight; it is a way for Ball State University students to remember the 12 million people who died during the Holocaust.
Junior Tim Boswell coordinated Holocaust Awareness Week, which began Monday with the placement of more than 2,000 flags in LaFollette Field. Each flag represents 5,000 Holocaust victims, he said.
The color of each flag is symbolic of the victims' groups, Boswell said. Jews, Soviets and Gypsies are among the seven groups that are represented, Boswell said.
The week will also include a candlelight vigil, a documentary and a lecture.
"The idea of doing this is to show people who were affected by the Holocaust," he said. "I just feel like it's important because we don't realize we have hate. It's all around us, no matter what."
The candlelight vigil will be at 8 p.m. on Wednesday on LaFollette Field, Boswell said.
Boswell will show the documentary "Journey to a Hate Free Millennium," which is about hate crimes in the U.S., at 8 p.m. on Thursday in Cardinal Hall B.
After the film, Beth Messner, Ball State communication studies associate professor, will give a lecture about hate speech and its effects, he said.
Organizers began planning the events in January, Boswell said. He contacted Student Action Team, Residence Hall Association and Student Government Association to sponsor the event, he said.
David Mitchell, who helped Boswell organize the week, said he posted flyers around campus and visited all the hall councils and other organizations on campus to spread the word. The Facebook group Holocaust Awareness Week was also started to promote the event, Mitchell said.
Boswell said he plans to have a Holocaust Awareness Week again next year.
MemorialFlags fill LaFollette Field representing those who died during the Holocaust.2,068 flags each represent 5,000 victims1,200 yellow flags representing 6 million Jews667 red flags representing 3.3 million Soviets100 orange flags representing 500,000 Poles80 blue flags representing 400,000 Gypsies14 green flags representing 70,000 disabled4 white flags representing 20,000 Jehovah's Witnesses3 pink flags representing 15,000 homosexuals
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