FIRE Campus Scholar brings free speech art installation to Skidmore College

Melanie Nolan is a senior at Skidmore College and a FIRE Campus Scholar.

Earlier this September, I was named one of FIRE’s inaugural Campus Scholars. As part of the experience, I received a grant to create a project related to free expression on my campus. My fellow Campus Scholars and I met in FIRE’s office in Philadelphia for a training weekend where we met FIRE staff, pitched our ideas to other scholars, and planned the successful execution of our projects back on campus.

I attend Skidmore College, a small, private liberal arts school with around 2,500 students, nestled alongside the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. Skidmore’s motto is “creative thought matters.” As a senior English major, I’ve always found that to be true. The interests of the Skidmore community are vast and diverse: It’s not uncommon to see a ballet dancer rushing to complete her biology lab homework so she can make it to her girlfriend’s improv performance later that evening. 

When I considered ideas for my Campus Scholar project, I knew I wanted to do something that captured the vast array of interests the Skidmore community offers. Skidmore hosts a thriving art scene, meaning the issue of free speech is ever-present. With this in mind, I pitched my idea: an art installation called “The Solidarity Project”: a public art piece that invited members of the community to amplify other’s voices, testing their commitment to free speech and the ramifications of anti-censorship.

The installation itself was held inside Case Center, a major student hub on campus. First, students would write down a belief on a piece of paper starting with the words “I believe.” Then, they would submit it to a bowl on the table. Any statement was welcome, as long as it did not violate the Skidmore Code of Conduct or the First Amendment. 

Next, the student would draw someone else’s statement out of a bowl. In order for their own statement to be submitted to the bowl, they were required to hand-write the other statement they drew, word-for-word on the wall. If the student did not feel comfortable writing someone else’s statement on the wall, then both their new statement and their selected statement were shredded. 

The installation ran from Nov. 20 to Dec. 2 and more than 100 “I believe” statements were added to the board, from the personal — “I believe in loving myself” — to the political — “I believe no human is illegal.”  We had so many interesting and meaningful conversations with students, staff, professors and members of the community who stopped by to write beliefs of their own on the board. Overall, very few students made the choice to shred their statements. My installation led to a lot of thoughtful conversations and reflections between myself and students who would stop inside, and even groups of friends who wandered in together. It was amazing to see the way the community engaged with my piece and continued having thoughtful and nuanced conversations on their way out the door. 

I am so grateful for FIRE for providing the materials and resources for my installation to be a success and for their support and encouragement.