Over the past week, uncooked rice—easily one of the most inherently unexceptional foods imaginable—has transformed into somewhat of an overnight campus sensation. With heaping piles of rice grains in Zilka, Olin, Exley, and even throughout Middletown, the University’s installation, Of All the People in All the World, has certainly been hard to miss. And, in a time when seeming “concern” for global warming often runs only as deep as toting a Sigg water bottle and gallantly admiring Al Gore, we applaud Professor of Environmental Science Barry Chernoff and Director of the Center for the Arts Pamela Tatge for catching wind of such a unique and inspirational environmental campaign—and for taking the time and initiative to implement it at Wesleyan.

In the exhibition, each grain of rice represents a single human being, tangibly displaying statistics such as the number of immigrants that passed through Ellis Island (as well as the number that was sent back to Europe). Following the lead of the original rice installation, which developed in the UK before making its way all over the world, many of the rice piles correspond to statistics about global warming. In an effort to elucidate environmental issues, the display takes advantage of one undeniable fact: statistics that can be swiftly wiped from memory as numbers tend to stick a little more firmly when represented in a concrete form. Each rice display puts the history of Wesleyan, Middletown and the U.S. into context. The sights are at once visually appealing and intellectually jarring, and they achieve their goal in making this sort of impact.

On its way to that goal, however, the exhibition realizes another aim, as well. By combining environmental science, history and art, the installation truly manages to bridge academic disciplines. Although this interdisciplinary effort is in line with what seems to be a general inclination of the student body as a whole (take CSS, COL and the countless students who double major, for example), interdepartmental efforts are frequently easier said than done. While previous initiatives put forth by the “Feet to the Fire” campaign have striven to cross departmental lines and involve the whole campus community in environmental efforts, its latest endeavor seems to be a clearer success. Not only does the exhibit itself bridge academics and politics with sculpture and art, but it also brings an aesthetic experience to the potentially less art-inclined students making their way through campus, in addition to those willing to trek to Zilka.

            While art exhibits come and go, few really work on so many different levels. As Wesleyan students, we often consider ourselves to be a student body rife with lofty ideals and progressive enthusiasm. Yet efforts to have any sort of worldly influence often feel stifled within the bounds of campus life. This campaign, however, uses a creatively simple technique to make a clear and pervasive impact. It succeeds as an undertaking that is truly accessible, engaging and informative—and all it took was a few bags of rice.