Students have mobilized to replace decades’ worth of graffiti after the University recently repainted tunnel walls under the Butterfield B dormitory. Just before fall break, residents doing laundry encountered white and black paint instead of the familiar, colorful walls that had become part of the University.
“The graffiti in the tunnels is vandalism as defined by the Code of Non-Academic Conduct and the Student Standards of Conduct, both of which can be found in the student handbook,” said Director of Media Relations David Pesci, who spoke to the Argus on behalf of himself, Physical Plant, and Residential Life.
The repainted walls are in one of the few halls in the tunnels that students are still permitted in, because it contains the Butterfield laundry room.
“This was actually identified during the summer as an appropriate starting point to address the vandalism in the tunnels because it is a common access point for students and pedestrians,” Pesci said.
After hearing the news of the tunnels being painted, students voiced their displeasure with the painting and organized to “retag” the walls.
“So, Butt tunnels have been repainted,” one student posted on Wesleyan’s Anonymous Confession Board. “Anyone have spray paint?”
Almost immediately after the fresh coat of paint dried, the walls were retagged with spray paint and sharpies.
“We did not expect students to vandalize the walls almost immediately after work had been done to paint them,” Pesci said. “Fixing this, and rest of the painting, will be done when it comes up on the work order list again.”
Pesci encouraged those responsible for the retagging to come forward.
“Of course, repairs could be done more quickly and fairly if the students who decided to spray graffiti on the freshly-painted walls will come forward and offer to pay the costs of having their vandalism removed,” he said. “If this does not occur, we will follow University policy and charge all the students in Butterfield for these repairs.”
Many students feel that removing tunnel graffiti is not a necessity, as evidenced by the newly-formed Facebook group “KEEP WESLEYAN WEIRD.” The group supports tagging in the tunnels, chalking, and Eclectic parties, and claims that the University’s action is “clearly not the end of [the Administration’s] attempt to strip the entire campus of culture.” At press time, the group had 921 members.
“If the University wants to cut down on vandalism on historic campus buildings and around Middletown, they need to be prepared to make concessions when it comes to the tunnels,” said Xue Sun ’08. “I’ve read [Wesleyan Admissions process investigation] The Gatekeepers, and the antics that the pre-frosh admire so much during Wesfest are definitely SJB-able. The example I can think of right now is a banner with an administrator’s name next to a giant penis, which I can imagine [Dean of the College] Maria Cruz-Saco would send out a campus-wide e-mail for. ”
Cruz-Saco has sent out several e-mails this semester alerting the campus that racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic spray paint and chalkings have been found. In general, this type of graffiti is removed first.
“Priority is given to vandalism and abuse that threaten the safety of the campus populations, so as a result some jobs are tackled more quickly than others,” Pesci said. “The tunnels had been identified as having been vandalized by repeated graffiti and were slated for painting.”
Despite the quick student response, including new graffiti, tunnel walls will likely be painted again in the future.
“In terms of painting the other walls, they have clearly been vandalized and will be identified for painting at a future date,” Pesci said. “However, I should note that when we do this, it is not a free service. In fact, over the last three years vandalism and other destruction and abuse on campus has incurred more than $455,700 in costs to repair this damage.”
Several supporters of tunnel graffiti have claimed that the graffiti in the tunnels helps to sell the school, pointing to “The Gatekeepers,” and the movie “PCU,” which is loosely based on Wesleyan and includes scenes in the tunnels. But not everyone in the University community appreciates the graffiti in the tunnels.
“We have heard several negative comments in the past few months about the particular graffiti near Butterfield from parents, potential clients for camps and conferences who were receiving tours of the facilities, as well as from several members of the University community,” Pesci said. “Based on those comments I definitely believe that this type of abuse of community space does not help sell the school or enhance its perception. I mean really, who wants graffiti sprayed all over the place where they live, work and learn?”
Based on the new graffiti, online posts, and Wespeak submissions, a number of students view the walls of the tunnels as unique places to express themselves freely.
“It’s unfair and misleading to advertise Wesleyan as a mecca of expression and, to a certain extent, counterculture, and then expect those students to sit on their hands ‘or else’ once they fork up the $40,000 per year tuition,” Sun said.