Submitted by sundquj on May 8, 2008 - 4:45pm
Have you thought about having places in each stall where students post aka "Free Speech Boards."
At the Food Coop downtown huge pieces of butcher paper are on the side of each stall so they can be written on. Go there and you will find all Graffiti is written over the paper rather than the stall itself.
I constantly see the school dealing with Graffiti clean-up so why don't you actively embrace the writing in the bathrooms and stop cleaning it up all the time. This is something that the Graffiti artists will appreciate. It could take a few months, but all those pen/pencil markings will eventually make their way on to the Free Speech boards. This method will save the school money and the janitors' time. All the school will have to do is put up a new sheet when it gets filled.
Seriously, try this in one guy/girl bathroom and see what happens! A simple solution to help stem a huge problem
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GRAFFITI - Library Responds, Sept 2008
Interesting suggestion. Big problem all over campus. We'll give this some thought.
Frank Haulgren
14 Days Coordinator
One concern
My only concern with this idea is that many people use these forums for inappropriate and vindictive comments about other students. In my dorm a few years ago the people in the hallway put up papers to share their thoughts about movies, television shows and other things but it evolved into fights between people writing on the stalls. Even well-meaning flyers for a cancer benefit were disrespected. If white boards or something are put up in stalls they should be put up with the stipulation that if people are using them to voice hateful or offensive things, they will be taken down.
I agree this is a great
I agree this is a great idea. people who want to express themselves should have a place to do it. even if its in the bathrooms which i never really understood. who goes to the bathroom with a marker in hand? anyway...
this idea is a winner in my book i'm tired of cleaning off graffiti
Agreed. Also, word magnets!
With the recent repainting of some of the restrooms in the library, I had a similar idea: whiteboards in the stalls. You can get flexible self-adhesive whiteboard surfaces that stick-on anywhere, that are probably less expensive and certainly easier to install than a normal whiteboard.
I also think it would be fun to try those word magnets that you can make funny sentences with (e.g., http://www.funkyfridge.com/magnetic-poetry.html). This would offer an inoffensive and more interesting creative outlet for graffitists, and would be much more fun for everyone else to read than typical graffiti. Unlike most graffiti, these magnets challenge people to be truly clever and witty, and thus could possibly turn the graffiti problem into something truly entertaining, stimulating, and positive.
Even if the pens or magnets get stolen over time, if it reduces the cost of repainting it might be worth it.