As the season changes, the sidewalks on campus are being covered with leaves. Along with the leaves, messages in chalk often appear scrawled on the pathways to class.
The chalk often offers information about meetings, Greek societies, and activities happening on campus. But sometimes the messages say things like “Happy Birthday so-and-so”.
Happy Birthday messages however, break the policy that this University has had for about a year now.
Also, the appropriateness of Happy Birthday messages is questionable.
“Individual messages like Happy Birthday Erin are really not needed, because there are probably a hundred Erins on campus,” freshman student Savannah Acker said. “These messages don’t affect enough students to be written on sidewalks.”
When Dr. Wanda Overland came to Bowling Green four years ago, there was no chalking policy.
“The truth was chalking was happening and student leaders wanted the right to chalk,” Overland said.
Overland, the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, believes that as long as people do not abuse their right to chalk, it will not be a problem.
Jill Carr, the Associate Dean of Students at the Office of Student Affairs, said that there have been no incidents with chalking on the University that she has been aware of.
Carr believes chalking is beneficial to the campus as long as it is kept on the sidewalks and not on buildings.
The University policy says that all chalking must be limited to sidewalks and must be at least 20 feet from any building entrance.
“I don’t think that its defacing when its on sidewalks. It shows you the culture of the institution and what is going on,” Carr said.
The chalking policy that has been in the University’s Student Handbook since fall semester last year.
The policy reads that only registered organizations and University departments can use chalk on the sidewalks.
Overland said that personal messages like happy birthday are not allowed, but that students need to have better education about issues such as these.
“We (administrators) have an obligation to provide information about policies,” Overland said.
Overland said that students who know a policy and break it will face disciplinary action, but a student who did not know they were breaking policy would be given a warning and may be asked to clean up the chalk.
“It is a balance. We hope students will not abuse policy but realize it is a privilege.
Chalking policies have become a talked about issue at some other college campuses.
In an Associated Press article, the University of Nebraska was mentioned because a student said that chalking was only allowed in two obscure locations on campus. The student said he thinks such policies are wrong.
Senior student Michael Spalvieri said that he thinks chalking should be done in one spot on campus, but somewhere it would be seen. He recommended the area by the Education building.
“Maybe in one area it would be better, then chalk wouldn’t be everywhere like an inner city graffiti campus,” Spalvieri said.
The AP article also mentioned that students feel chalking is a freedom of speech, and that if chalking were banned it would be in violation of the first amendment.
As for our University, Carr does not believe that our policy is a restriction of free speech.
“I do not view it as an attack on freedom of speech because a University has the right to control time, place and manner of speech, but not content,” Carr said.
Carr also said that chalking really comes down to responsibility.
“We all have to take responsibility in what we say and write, everyone should be able to state their own opinions,” Carr said.
“Students should be able to do that and stay within the policy.”
Overland said that chalking and other types of advertisement for campus events are ways to personalize a campus.
“Our goal is to create a good atmosphere for individual students and student organizations,” Overland said.
UNIVERSITY’S POLICY ON POLICY CHALKING
“The use of chalk by registered student organizations and University departments to publicize campus events on sidewalks is permitted. Messages must be at least 20 feet from the entrance of any University building. Messages or information that violate University policy are subject to removal at the expense of the advertiser. The use of chalk on buildings or any other University property is prohibited.”
Page 36, “Advertisement” No. 8 in University’s Student Handbook.