A Tribute to American Diversity

(Photograph by Phelan M. Ebenhack, for The Chronicle)

As horrible as the terrorist attacks were, the U.S. response — with people of all races and nationalities coming together to support one another — was awe-inspiring to many Americans. Two freshmen at George Washington University were so impressed that they decided to fashion a memorial that would be a tribute to the diversity of their university and of the nation as a whole.

The students, Ari Mittleman and Taryn Schaberg, thought a fitting tribute would be a quilt with sections designed by a variety of groups and sewn together in the shape and pattern of an American flag.

The quilt started out as a George Washington University project, says Mr.

Mittleman, but the idea spread and the quilt became a nationwide effort. Participants were given either a white or a red patch about three feet square and asked to create a design on it.

All of the patches have been stitched together with a large blue patch containing stars, so the finished quilt looks like a giant American flag.

A few of the patches will remain blank until the unveiling next week, at the base of the Washington Monument. While the quilt is on display, visitors will be invited to sign their names to the blank squares.

Between the red and white stripes of the quilt will be narrow rows where people will be able to walk and get a close-up view of the many different images in the flag. Mr. Mittleman hopes it will inspire them to think about the great patchwork of people who make up this country. “People will be able to walk between the stripes,” he says, “and see all the diversity.”