If there’s one word to describe Marshall, it would be “community.” Wherever you go in Huntington you can feel the love and connection between the town and our university. Our annual 9/11 ceremony was no exception. The stories of those touched by the tragedy faced that day were heart-breaking and the sense of togetherness heart-warming. Huntington’s community and hard-working spirit shone through and reminded us all of how proud we are to be Americans, Huntingtonians and Marshall students. The majority of the ceremony brought us together, but that sense of unity was sadly disrupted near the end.

One singer took to the microphone to introduce his song. He explained that, one day, he and his friends were watching coverage of Americans protesting the war in Afghanistan. In a moment of frankness, he admitted that he and his friends wrote the song because the protestors “pissed them off.” His lyrics went on to charge those who opposed the war with forgetting the terror of 9/11 and painted those opposed to the war as weak people who were somehow unpatriotic and unsupportive of our nation in troubled times.

I was saddened that this vitriol was brought into an otherwise beautiful ceremony meant to unite us, rather than divide us.

No matter one’s stance on any war, the criticism of protestors has deeper, problematic implications. On a day where we celebrate our country, we should be valuing freedom of expression. Their right to freedom of speech, in fact, is a fundamental aspect of American democracy that the prior speakers so artfully praised. When we say that other countries envy American greatness, we should remember that the First Amendment is a cornerstone of that greatness.

Losing American lives on September 11th was tragic enough; it would only compound our loss to send our men and women into war without great caution. If a segment of the population thinks that the loss of life endemic to war is not justified, they should be encouraged to express their concern through protest. Those of us wary of war want to support our troops by keeping them out of harm’s way.

I have learned that Marshall itself was a hotbed of protest during the Vietnam War, a time when grassroots activism launched its start on college campuses. I have been told stories of the passion and fear flowing through our campus community during that time of conflict. People were compelled to take a stand because at any moment they could be drafted into battle where their lives could end, or be forever altered. Our culture of open expression apparently continued into the 2000’s when a new generation of students protested President Bush’s invasion of Iraq. Therefore, protest is not only a part of American history, but it is a part of Marshall’s history and Huntington’s history.

Protest is a part of who we are. A ceremony meant to pay tribute to the lives lost in an American tragedy is no place to shun those who exercise their rights.