The Freedom Plaza at Miami Dade College’s InterAmerican Campus was vandalized during Winter break.
Custodian Ana Varela reported on December 27 that the Human Rights wall, which has the 19th article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights inscribed on it, had been damaged, according to Jose Mateo, director of campus services at InterAmerican Campus.
Fifteen of the silver letters which spelled “Freedom of Expression” were removed from the monument wall, leaving only the word “free,” according to Hernando Jose Vasquez the Public Safety Chief at IAC.
On Jan. 10 the letters were reattached directly into the wall instead of the previous arrangement that had them jutting out a couple of inches from the wall.
Administrative Services Director Archie Bouie said that the cost of repairs ranged between $400 to $425.
Bouie said that surveillance video showed that a group of kids who were skateboarding on the plaza removed the letters because they got in their way. The vandals remain unidentified.
