UNAM mourns students repression with black cloak and lights

A dove with a bayonet stuck in its chest and the message “ 68 never again ” were displayed for the first time in the Rectory Tower of Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the student repression of October 2, 1968 .

The tower was illuminated with images projected to honor those who died during the movement. The superior part of the building features the number 68. Underneath, there is a dove wounded by the Mexican Army , and a sign that reads “Never again.”

In an interview with EL UNIVERSAL , Gerardo Estrada, head of the University’s Cultural Promotion Division , stated that those symbols had been chosen because, in 1968, Mexico was chosen to host the Olympics , and the birds were used to call for peace and fraternity: “But in our country, the dove was hurt by the military forces. We should never forget these events.”

This morning, the building was covered with a black cloak: “This is the first time that the Rectory is covered as a sign of morning. It is not only the will of UNAM, but of the Mexican society as a whole, that a thing like the tragedy of October 2 never happens again.”

UNAM’s Film Archive pays tribute to Student Movement of 1968

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