First and foremost in this edition of the Top Hat, I would like to apologize for not having written in a few weeks. As everyone at RPI knows, the semester can really get away from you if you’re not completely on top of everything. So, apologies aside, I’d like to take this opportunity to address an issue that’s been plaguing the campus for as long as I’ve been a student here. The biggest physical property issue I have with this school isn’t the EMPAC or Biotechnology Center; it’s the graffiti on campus. I’m not here to argue whether or not these “tags” are art. They may very well be a valid form of expression, but the problem is that they’re also a valid form of recklessness and disrespect. If we’re going to talk about it, though, I guess we should discuss the whole issue.
Growing up near Philadelphia, I have always been exposed to “urban mural art,” better known as graffiti. When we were all young, it was mostly just gang names spray-painted on the sides of buildings. As we’ve grown up, though, so has graffiti. The City of Philadelphia has embraced their urban art roots and jumped head-first into painting murals on the sides of buildings. It employs the same folks that were previously breaking the law to create these center-city masterpieces. The Mural Arts Program asks building owners for their permission to paint their building, and then sets up a project and paints the building. They employ around 300 artists every year (most of which are young) to paint their murals. Because of this effort, Philadelphia is internationally recognized as “America’s City of Murals.”
Philadelphia started this program for the same reasons that Environmental and Site Services pressure-washed the side of The Quad last week—rampant graffiti. The problem isn’t just where the paintings are, or what they are, or who did them. The real problem is that the “artists” didn’t have permission. This campus, believe it or not, is private property. So, tagging a building here is just as bad as tagging one in Philadelphia. The worst part about doing it here is you’re defacing something that you pay to maintain.
My proposal to all of you “art nuts” out there is to come up with a mural arts program for RPI. Present the idea to the Executive Board. Maybe you’ll get their permission to create a club; maybe you won’t get their backing. Who knows? If you gain nothing else, you’ll gain the campus’s respect. Personally, I think that there are a few buildings on this campus that are so ugly that they could use a nice mural on them. The Folsom Library, the JEC, and even the Student Union would look nice with some mural art on them in my opinion.
