Visitors to the Downtown Mall will soon have an opportunity to publicly celebrate free speech. Construction of a monument on the Mall recognizing the First Amendment is expected to be completed by the end of November.
The monument, which is located across from City Hall, will consist of two chalkboards and a podium. The public will be able to write on and edit the chalkboards as well as use the podium for both planned and spontaneous speeches.
Officially titled "Community Chalkboard and Podium: a Monument to the First Amendment," the memorial is sponsored by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, a local group founded by former University President Robert O'Neil.
"The Thomas Jefferson mission is the protection of free expression," Jefferson Center Associate Director Joshua Wheeler said. "We pursue the mission in a variety of ways, one of which is to foster greater appreciation for the critical role that free speech plays in a democratic society. We believe this monument will do that by both commemorating that all-important freedom and providing a venue for the exercise of the right of free speech."
The Center conceived the plan for the monument in 1997, and City Council approved it in 2001. All finances for the project were raised through private donation, Wheeler said.
According to Peter O'Shea, who co-designed the monument with Robert B. Winstead, the key to the design is the ability of the public to participate in celebrating freedom of speech.
"The most important thing about a First Amendment monument is that it should be interactive and straightforward," O'Shea said. "We thought it should be really open-ended in terms of how controlled it can be."
Lack of control is a concern for some opponents of the wall, who said they think the prevalence of profanity and disrespectful messages could tarnish the significance of commemorating the First Amendment.
"People are going to write dirty messages and stupid things," local businessman Tyler Sewell said. "And eventually it will be taken out because it will be a big ugly eyesore.I am not opposed to free speech or a monument to free speech, but this monument is ill-conceived. I think if you are going to do it, do it right, and this is a poor attempt."
Wheeler said those at the Jefferson Center do not feel profanity will be a significant issue.
"We think the instances of offensive speech will be so outnumbered by the examples of positive expression that the former will be seen as an occasional annoyance rather than the defining characteristic of the monument," he said. "On a more practical level, individuals can respond to offensive speech in one of two ways. The first is they can write a response stating why they think that speech is inappropriate. Or second, they can simply wipe that offensive speech off the chalkboard."
Wheeler added that the chalkboard will be cleaned regularly on a weekly basis.
Although the Council has approved the monument and its location across from City Hall, the Jefferson Center essentially is renting the space from the City and will be in charge of maintenance on the memorial.
"It's never going to be monitored by any government authority, not formally," Wheeler said. "But it will of course be monitored by everyone who passes by it."
Read More
Senior VP for Operations Colette Sheehy looks back at her career at the University
By Brandon Kile | 5 hours agoSheehy’s role involved overseeing the work of around 2,500 University employees, including custodians, architects and engineers.
Will the Faculty Senate’s no-confidence vote impact the U.Va. Board of Visitors?
By Brandon Kile | 21 hours agoIn many cases, a no-confidence vote may soon be followed by steps taken to remove the leadership that may be acting against the wishes of a community.
Two senior U.Va. Health leaders quietly take new jobs without formal announcement
By Ford McCracken | 2 days agoKibbe’s departure marks the end of an ongoing battle between U.Va. Health employees and their senior leadership.
