Students build One Day Wall

A 100-foot-long wall got in the way of students going to and from classes Monday at Penn State Altoona.

That was the whole point.

"We got a lot of people to realize the significance of the day," college German Club President and sophomore Helena Kotala, 19, of Sinking Valley said of what she called a smack-you-in-the-face approach to recognizing the 20-year anniversary and educating students about the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Twenty years ago Monday, the Berlin Wall fell with thousands peacefully crossing the border. The wall was built in 1961 to keep East Berliners from crossing over to the West to escape communism.

The 15-foot high One Day Wall, made up of two white tarps was designed by theatre arts instructor Carlos Ruiz and built by students under his direction. It was erected on the pathway between Robert E. Eiche Library and the J.E. Holtzinger Building.

Students were available to answer questions to passersby. Those who wanted to were able to write on the western side of the wall, German, English and Comparative Literature assistant professor Jutta Lorensen said.

"We wanted to bring attention to the coming down of the Berlin Wall," she said. "The world did not look the same after the Berlin Wall came down."

Informational tables also were set up for students to learn more about the event.

Guest speaker Boris Erg, director and project coordinator for European Green Belt, spoke Monday evening in the Hawthorn Building.

"Nature has taken over" the strip of land where the Iron Curtain once divided Eastern and Western Europe, and the European Green Belt project is working to preserve what nature healed, Kotala said.

"It will take us longer to tear down the wall in our heads than any wrecking company will need for the wall we can see," Lorensen quoted from Peter Schneider who wrote "The Wall Jumper." The quote was written across the campus installation.

While the quote applies to the historical event from 20 years ago, it can also apply in a "larger context," Lorensen said.

"I think it's very, very true," Kotala said of the quote she believes can apply to everyday life.