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The Berlin Wall was toppled Monday by Providence High students who weren't born when the real thing fell.
Linda Horvath's fourth-year German class marked the 20th anniversary by blocking the school's main hall with a hand-built, graffiti-covered wall. Students using crutches or wheelchairs could pass through; everyone else was blocked by uniformed ROTC cadets carrying drill rifles.
Students and faculty grumbled, but that was fine.
"They don't realize that being upset about not being able to get where you want to go is the purpose," said senior Andy Jensen, who worked with sophomore Nick Wurm to build the wall.
Horvath elaborated: "I said, 'Imagine what that would be like for 28 years.' It makes them appreciate freedom."
Horvath moved up her lessons on postwar Germany to coincide with the anniversary of the Nov. 9, 1989, event. The class compared the security of communist East Berlin - no unemployment, no homelessness, government-provided medicine - with the greater freedom and affluence of West Berlin.
Andy, 17, and Nick, 15, started talking about building their own wall. "It was sort of like a joke at first," Nick said.
Principal Tracey Harrill says when they asked her permission, she didn't hesitate. The faculty had just been talking about how to stimulate high-achieving kids. This was perfect, she thought.
During morning announcements, snippets about the wall were added to the in-house broadcast.
Nick and Andy built their wooden wall in segments, off campus. Classmates spray-painted German flags and phrases on the western side, leaving the eastern side bleak and gray. They set up the wall Sunday afternoon, creating a Monday-morning shock.
To offset the annoyance and boost the educational value, there was also a Berlin Wall quiz; students who get all 10 questions right will enter a drawing for Taco Bell gift certificates.
"Taco Bell is totally worth it," one student said, grinning, as he picked up his quiz on the western side and found an alternate route to the east side, where historical summaries were posted.
Teachers - even the principal - were a bit taken aback to realize they, too, had to respect the wall.
"I have to do lunch duty," one teacher said, approaching the gap for handicapped students.
"So did I," said Horvath, blocking the gap. A few seconds of awkward silence followed. "You can't go around?"
The teacher did.
At the end of second lunch, about a dozen German students lined up on the east side of the wall. " Ein! Zwei! Drei!" they counted, then shoved.
The wall fell with a whump, and freedom was restored to Providence High.
