Recently the campus has once again confronted the issue of student expression. We don’t say “chalking” because we believe it is problematic to separate various forms of alternative student expression. This is not to say that chalking, graffiti, online forums, and (wouldn’t it be kind of nostalgic) pamphleteering, should all be treated in the same manner. Rather, what we mean to say is that these forms of speech seek to express and ameliorate similar underlying problems.
We feel it is important to share the WSA’s recent responses and future plans for addressing these issues. Furthermore, we would like to invite the entire Wesleyan community to confront this issue with us to foster an open, honest dialogue about these forms of expression and their repercussions for the community.
First, let us rearticulate the WSA’s position on chalking and other alternative forms of expression. In May 2003, the WSA produced a proposal detailing how chalking might be sustained at Wesleyan within certain parameters. Some of our ideas were the foundation for the chalking policy in the period before the ban, but eventually went by the wayside. After the ban was imposed, the WSA revisited the issue in March 2004, and reaffirmed its support for chalking. President Bennet responded with a counterargument, which is available on the Hermes website. As we prepare for the transition to Wesleyan’s next president, it is important that we fully study the issue, and reformulate our ideas. We cannot allow ourselves to begin the next President’s term with an incoherent, fragmented approach. Rather we should stake out a firm, well-researched position, and begin negotiations there. Therefore, we must deeply and honestly examine free expression, and its ramifications for all members of the Wesleyan community.
We would like to address the history(ies) of alternative expression at Wesleyan. Wespeaks in Friday’s Argus by Bea Lake, Zach Strassburger, Tsultrim Davis, Nik Orr and Leora Abelson are right to assert the importance of history. However, their claims to historical truth are no more legitimate than those made by Dean Whaley. At this point, I think it is safe only to assume that the various histories being provided drive their own particular agendas, and each is no more legitimate than the last. If we as students intend to make a compelling case for the reinstitution of any prohibited form of communication on this campus, if we intend to truly understand and confront these issues in an honest and balanced way, than we must strive for a more complete history. We need a history that seeks whatever possible objectivity may be found. The production of such a history will require time, effort, research, and a whole-hearted attempt to capture the breadth of interpretations on our disputed past.
For this upcoming year, we propose to thoroughly and fairly research the issues surrounding alternative expression and to provide the community with recommendations based on the history of Wesleyan expression and its strategic importance in the future of the institution. We must not only address the reasons why chalking, or graffiti or any other form of expression is productive, but also why it might be counter-productive. And it is not enough to say that if these forms of expression are, on the whole, “good,” they should be “legal.” As Mark Kelley pointed out in his Wespeak, the ban on chalking has made all such expression inherently an act of political defiance. We think it is important to examine how these mechanisms affect the student body and the institution.
It may perhaps be perceived that we are presenting our stance as being for the chalking ban; however, we emphatically state that we seek to be neither for nor against any ban. Until we are able to gather more information and present a more complete analysis of the ramifications of either policy, we wish to remain neutral.
Therefore, the WSA calls for the production of “A Report on the History of Alternative and Subversive Forms of Expression.” We extend an invitation to all members of the community to assist in the production of this study. A small committee of WSA and non-WSA students will be established to produce a document that will synthesize the spectrum of perspectives across the institution, and if appropriate, make recommendations. If you are interested in joining the committee, or would like to be interviewed at some point this year, please contact Benedict Bernstein (bsbernstein@wesleyan.edu).
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