| Public easel in hall inspires expression (12/07) | | Print | |
| Written by Lydia O'Connor | |
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A large piece of paper entitled “Public Easel” put up by two students is providing an alternative to writing on the backs of bathroom doors.
Seniors Anna Vignet and Angela M. Chen covered an unused bulletin board with a blank poster on the first floor of the science building on Nov. 9 and replaced it on Nov. 20 after the first one filled up with students’ contributions. Vignet said she was inspired to begin the project after seeing a similar board. “The very first inspiration was going to UC-Berkeley and seeing their bulletin boards absolutely covered several feet deep in posters,” she said. “I thought it would be interesting to have a sort of place like that at Lowell.” Vignet explained that they put the poster up unofficially. “We just sort of took over it,” she said. “It was empty, so why not put it to use?” “(The Public Easel) is a place for people to put whatever they want,” Vignet said, “Drawing, writing, announcements, proclamations, anything. I think it encourages free speech and is a place where (students) can connect on a more basic level.” Chen agreed, “It’s almost like the back of a bathroom door where people can just say anything they want, except this is actually larger and more artistic … and it’s not considered vandalism,” she said. Students said they enjoy the new addition to the hallway. “It makes the hallway in the science building more interesting,” junior Liliana Silva said. “It didn’t seem like many boards were being used.” “I like that someone else is using the bulletin boards besides Italian,” said world language teacher Judy Branzburg, whose classroom is across the hall from the Public Easel. “I enjoy reading what the students write even though most of the time I don’t have a clue what it means.” Contributions to the board have been progressively creative. “At first, people just put their phone numbers,” Vignet said. “Since then, there has been more interesting writing, in other languages even.” The current Public Easel displays everything from the humorous “Don’t smoke, come to egg club instead,” to the more serious and wise words of Star Wars’ Yoda, “Do, or do not, there is no try.” There is also an attached sheet titled, “Blind drawings in calculus.” Chen enjoys seeing the poster’s influence. “My favorite part about this Public Easel is the interaction people have with it,” Chen said. “For example, someone would write, ‘I love Bob’ on the board and sign their name, and then someone else would see it and bring Bob over to see it and ask him if he can tell who wrote it. I really like it when people respond to each other either by commenting on a statement or a picture.” So far, there have not been problems with students writing inappropriate messages on the Public Easel. “As long as people keep it clean … it will be able to stay up without administrators taking it down,” she said. “People have been pretty good about taking the opportunity to write or draw something further than the normal obscenities.” The rules of the board are clearly posted: “Write what you want. Draw what you want. But respect free speech, or else the board will get taken down.” Vignet said they plan to keep the poster going as long as possible with new ideas as well. “We’re definitely going to continue to put white sheets up whenever it gets full,” Vignet said. Chen said they have more advanced plans for the poster, such as a “take something leave something” box. “It’d be a box placed near the board and we’ll have markers, stickers, scissors, construction paper, glue and tape so people can use the items to contribute to the board,” she said. “However, every time you take something, you must also leave something in the box. It’d be interesting to see how the items change over time and how people use the given items.” Chen also said they are considering themes for the poster. “We’ll write on the top of the poster a specific topic and leave it there for discussion for a couple weeks, such as ‘Share music that you like,’ or ‘What’s your New Year’s resolution?’” Vignet said she likes how the project has been received. “Every now and then I’ll pass by and see people writing or looking at it,” she said. Chen also enjoyed reactions to the poster. “I was surprised how quickly it filled up and how no one even hesitated or asked why it was there,” Chen said. “I guess that shows how everyone does truly have something to say and wants to get it out.” |
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to listen.
