University Of Arizona Students Erect Mock Border Wall

Student activists at the University of Arizona have erected a nearly 1,000-foot-long mock border wall -- the longest in the country -- with an aim to create a "crisis on campus" that will force members of the campus community to confront border issues in the U.S. and the Middle East.

According to the Arizona Daily Wildcat, the installation, titled "Wall to Wall -- Concrete Connections/Conexiones Concretas," is designed to represent the walls present at the U.S./Mexico and Israel/Palestine borders. Erection of the barbed-wire fence kicked off Immigration Week at the school.

The mock wall, which cuts across the campus mall's south lawn and blocks access to a number of buildings, will remain on campus until March 31, reports Allvoices.

UA junior and No Más Muertes/No More Deaths Vice President Daniel Curiel told the Wildcat that the wall's location is intended to grab students' attention. "It's right smack-dab in the middle," he said. "Some people will be upset and bothered by it because they have to walk around."

The wall is decorated with informative posters and signs, is divided by checkpoints and contains a Palestine/Israel sectio where students will be able to partake in explanatory tours led by one West Bank-born student.

But some students say the disruption is out of line. Student Rachel Feurbach told KGUN 9 that she has been at the school for a year and has been paying tuition out of pocket. "I don't have to have my way across campus blocked," she said.

The school's chapter of No Más Muertes/No More Deaths worked with campus groups like the Social Justice League, UA for Border Justice, JUNTOS, Students for Justice in Palestine and others for eight months in order to prepare for the event.

Check out KGUN 9's coverage of the mock wall below, and share your reactions in the comments section.