A signage that honors law enforcement officers was removed at the Dartmouth College on May 13, Friday. According to the Dartmouth College Republican members, it was replaced with a Black Lives Matter display a day after.

The "Blue Lives Matter" sign, which was made on the National Police Week, is now taken away to be filled with a message about a movement opposing state violence. President Michelle Knesback of the Dartmouth College Republicans, said that they discovered the torn "Blue Lives Matter" display in the morning, Fox News reported.

Knesback stated that a "Black Lives Matter" sign was placed instead. Mikala Williams, a student who took the responsibility of taking away the police display with a "Black Lives Matter" writings told reporters that the police tribute sabotages the worries regarding police brutality.

According to Williams, the tribute to officers normalizes the violence committed against the black people in the United States. She confirmed that there were 25 protesters who stood in front of the billboards and replaced all the remaining billboards at the student center with posters of "Black Lives Matter." Williams also said that they put images of their members with the written sign "Sons of Old Dartmouth," Inquistr reported.

However, the school administrators acted two days later to condemn the incident. In an email sent by College President Phil Hanlon to the entire campus, he called such action as a violation of free speech that is not acceptable. However, Hanlon cited the incident that happened in November when Black Lives Matter shirts were also taken away from the display as the same billboard drama that occurred recently.

For security and safety reasons, the College Republicans were not given the permission to return back the police tribute display according to Knesback. But as stated by Collins Center director Anna Hall, the posters of the Black Lives Matter were removed on Saturday morning to put back the police display.

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Topics Dartmouth College, Black Lives Matter