Vandalism is not something that mature, college-aged intellectuals usually deal with. While sidewalk-chalk activism and political propaganda bombardment are omnipresent and often obnoxious, there is a serious and also illegal form of voicing one's views: inappropriately placing them in the bathroom stalls of College Library.
\Four more years, liberal (expletive),"" is not a wonderful way to welcome someone into the frequently used facility. Yet, this is the message that patrons are greeted with as they sit down to relieve themselves.
This dialogue is not academically stimulating, round-table debate. Instead, these discussions, if one can stretch to call them such, are trite, undeveloped and bear less information than a hastily scribbled poster at a protest rally.??A classically mediocre attempt to win over the masses, written by some not-so-clever environmentalist, has graced the middle stall door since the beginning of this semester, stating, ""if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down.""??
In defense of the many students who consider College Library a second home, the graffiti writers must be advised to think before they scrawl. Would you tag your bathroom at home with a Sharpie marker declaring whichever political party you happened to oppose should rot in hell, so guests at your next party would heed your message? Would you appreciate patrons defacing property in your place of employment? Activist taggers also must remember that more than a dozen library employees must use these facilities every day, and the amount of graffiti has become intolerable and disrespectful.
""The graffiti is so annoying,"" said Natalie Anderson, a senior and student employee at College Library. ""They painted over it once already, but people just keep doing it I'd like to go to the bathroom in peace and quiet, please!""
Perhaps some would say that if people are affected by the vandalism so much, the purpose of this potty propaganda has been served. It's true, the messages have been read, they have been seen by hundreds of students on campus and they most likely have been discussed. However, the disgust patrons feel is not from the issues the graffiti artists raise, but from the fact that such immaturely-mediated ranting is there in the first place.
No matter how clever the taggers were or how many people these messages reach, one main fact still remains: vandalism is illegal. It is disrespectful and degrading to not only the groups it attacks and the surface it is on, but also to the person who writes it. University buildings and properties do not just represent the institution; they represent each student. By despoiling these seemingly inconsequential bathroom stalls, these vandals project a negative image of our university and its student body to all who visit College Library. Maybe the delinquent activists enjoy being portrayed as tactless, marker-happy hooligans; but for the sake of the thousands who don't, please find a different outlet for your social and political agendas.
opinion@dailycardinal.com.
