Spring Break
Wall of hate to be broken down
Adam Larck / Staff Reporter
Issue date: 3/27/09 Section: News
Brick walls are usually meant as a metaphor for something hard to overcome in a person's life.
In April, the Residence Hall Association is going to make an actual example of this.
At Thursday's meeting, Karla Browning, vice president for programming and diversity chair, announced that RHA would be sponsoring Writing on the Wall.
This weeklong event will take place during Social Justice and Diversity Week that starts on April 20.
"Well, when I first came across the Writing on the Wall program, other universities had built this wall and I wanted to bring this wall to EIU," Browning said. "I realized that, during this Writing on the Wall, they held it during a diversity week or they called it Bringing Students Together Week.
"So we thought that, since EIU hasn't really had something like this and we hadn't really done something diverse, this is a direction EIU needs to go in. So I thought a week like this could be a new direction RHA could take the EIU community."
Before the week actually starts, campus and community members will be able to come to the South Quad or Library Quad to paint the bricks from April 14 to 16.
Two-hundred bricks will be able to be painted, and will be used to make up the wall.
"The wall isn't going to be of pretty things," she said. "The wall's going to have words of hate on there, words dealing with racism and neglect. People are, at first, going to be taken back by this wall and think 'How could an organization put something like this up?'
"When they realize what that wall is there for and what it's meant to do, they'll realize 'Oh, this is something good' once we come and tear it down together."
Because of the walls content, Browning is asking for volunteers to help monitor the wall for vandalism. They are looking for shifts that go all day and night, including a shift from 2 to 4 a.m.
"From experience in other universities, they've had people at 2 o'clock in the morning come and vandalize the wall," Browning said. "So I just want to make sure no one comes and vandalize the wall."
Community members that want to help watch the wall can contact Browning or talk to hall councils on campus.
Along with community help, Eastern construction will help construct the wall on April 20, along with faculty members. On April 24, when the wall is torn down, the chemistry department will help tear it down the wall with safety measures, and Home Depot will probably be on hand as well, Browning said.
RHA President Justin Schuch plans on attending other events that week but wants to help with the wall.
"I will most definitely be watching the wall, helping paint bricks and be supporting RHA," Schuch said.
Along with the Writing on the Wall event, other Registered Student Organizations such as the Black Student Union, PRIDE and the Student Senate will be putting on events such as lectures, forums and other interactive programs.
"The international students are working on a poster program that will take place in the library where people can come write about how they feel about each type of race and, at the end of the week, will come together and discuss what people have written on those," Browning said.
At the end of the meeting, the United Party of Students, headed by Michelle Murphy, talked to RHA members briefly about the upcoming Student Government elections.
Schuch said it varies in how many groups attend but all groups are welcomed.
"They can all come if they want, all the party groups that want to come and talk are welcome to," he said. "We're just giving them time at the end of the meeting, then they can field questions after it so we can keep our meetings to a decent time and everybody still has the same opportunity to come talk to us."
Schuch said he thinks it helps Student Government to speak to RHA, because it is such an active and large group that represents a massive portion on campus.
The next RHA meeting will be on at 5 p.m. Thursday at the NPHC building in Greek Court.
Adam Larck can be reached at 581-7942 or at allarck@eiu.edu.
In April, the Residence Hall Association is going to make an actual example of this.
At Thursday's meeting, Karla Browning, vice president for programming and diversity chair, announced that RHA would be sponsoring Writing on the Wall.
This weeklong event will take place during Social Justice and Diversity Week that starts on April 20.
"Well, when I first came across the Writing on the Wall program, other universities had built this wall and I wanted to bring this wall to EIU," Browning said. "I realized that, during this Writing on the Wall, they held it during a diversity week or they called it Bringing Students Together Week.
"So we thought that, since EIU hasn't really had something like this and we hadn't really done something diverse, this is a direction EIU needs to go in. So I thought a week like this could be a new direction RHA could take the EIU community."
Before the week actually starts, campus and community members will be able to come to the South Quad or Library Quad to paint the bricks from April 14 to 16.
Two-hundred bricks will be able to be painted, and will be used to make up the wall.
"The wall isn't going to be of pretty things," she said. "The wall's going to have words of hate on there, words dealing with racism and neglect. People are, at first, going to be taken back by this wall and think 'How could an organization put something like this up?'
"When they realize what that wall is there for and what it's meant to do, they'll realize 'Oh, this is something good' once we come and tear it down together."
Because of the walls content, Browning is asking for volunteers to help monitor the wall for vandalism. They are looking for shifts that go all day and night, including a shift from 2 to 4 a.m.
"From experience in other universities, they've had people at 2 o'clock in the morning come and vandalize the wall," Browning said. "So I just want to make sure no one comes and vandalize the wall."
Community members that want to help watch the wall can contact Browning or talk to hall councils on campus.
Along with community help, Eastern construction will help construct the wall on April 20, along with faculty members. On April 24, when the wall is torn down, the chemistry department will help tear it down the wall with safety measures, and Home Depot will probably be on hand as well, Browning said.
RHA President Justin Schuch plans on attending other events that week but wants to help with the wall.
"I will most definitely be watching the wall, helping paint bricks and be supporting RHA," Schuch said.
Along with the Writing on the Wall event, other Registered Student Organizations such as the Black Student Union, PRIDE and the Student Senate will be putting on events such as lectures, forums and other interactive programs.
"The international students are working on a poster program that will take place in the library where people can come write about how they feel about each type of race and, at the end of the week, will come together and discuss what people have written on those," Browning said.
At the end of the meeting, the United Party of Students, headed by Michelle Murphy, talked to RHA members briefly about the upcoming Student Government elections.
Schuch said it varies in how many groups attend but all groups are welcomed.
"They can all come if they want, all the party groups that want to come and talk are welcome to," he said. "We're just giving them time at the end of the meeting, then they can field questions after it so we can keep our meetings to a decent time and everybody still has the same opportunity to come talk to us."
Schuch said he thinks it helps Student Government to speak to RHA, because it is such an active and large group that represents a massive portion on campus.
The next RHA meeting will be on at 5 p.m. Thursday at the NPHC building in Greek Court.
Adam Larck can be reached at 581-7942 or at allarck@eiu.edu.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
J
posted 3/28/09 @ 11:06 PM CST
Why worry about vandalism? If the wall is suppose to have messages of HATE, what's the worst thing any vandals could possibly write?
Besides, why all this HATE for vandals?
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