Student Scribbles

Marks students leave on the university

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It seems everywhere I go on campus, I stumble across some doodles along the way: a kitty smoking a cigarette, a little fox and a fart, a word or two written on a wall. Do they mean anything? There’s the art commissioned by the university—like the new contact paper mural in Coffman Memorial Union—but there's also art that's been left by students for years. The messages and tags left on the walls, tables, and bathroom stalls around campus always speak to me even if I go about my day without talking to anyone. From West Bank to the Saint Paul campus, there’s little works of art all around, even the drawings on trash bins.

When I transferred to the U, I remember walking home to my apartment everyday and seeing “EVOLUTION IS A LIE,” spraypainted on the concrete. “Giant crows rule us all!” and “John 3:16” were added below it over time. I liked seeing what each person wanted to say, what they believe in and can stand on. I walked over these words everyday until they disappeared. Maybe I’m sentimental, but I still think about them every time I walk over that blank corner of concrete.

There’s something about graffiti on campus that makes me feel connected to the artist in a way I don’t when I see it anywhere else. I like the reminder that so many people have walked the same path I’m walking. The university is huge and being surrounded by this many people can feel very isolating. It makes me feel anonymous. Little graffiti hidden around the campus helps me feel connected to someone and reminds me how many people are anonymous to me but still find a way to make a mark.