Campus sees rise in chalked advertising, campaign plugs

This spring, there has been a resurgence of chalked messages advertising Associated Students candidates and club events around campus.

Technically, chalking is defacing state property and students could face vandalism charges, but facilities management and services will decide that depending on the extent of damages, said University Police Lt. Robyn Hearne.

Depending on the size, cleaning up the chalk can cost anywhere from $200 to $500 and take at least a couple hours to finish the task, said Paul Hawes, supervising painter.

The total damages figure is not known.

Some candidates who have advertised using chalk have been sent to Student Judicial Affairs, said Associate Director of Student Life Rick Rees. The names will not be released to maintain their privacy.

Executive memorandum EM-8612 outlines the appropriate areas for posting signs on campus, Rees said. Areas include the Free Speech Area and bulletin boards located all around campus.

You can't list all the things that are not permitted, so the memorandum states where students are allowed to post signs and advertisements, he said.

"It's kind of a looky-see, looky-do deal," Rees said.

Sometimes chalking starts on the ground, which is washed of by the rain, but then people will chalk under breezeways so it will last longer, then on the walls, on the bridges, and all over campus, Rees said.

If the chalk is close to a water source, they can usually spray it down with a hose and then scrub it off with a nylon brush, Hawes said.

But if the chalk is far away from a water source, then employees have to fill a sprayer with water and use it to soak the chalk, he said.

Despite campus policy, some support chalking practices.

Senior Matthew Curson, political science, thinks chalking on campus is a good thing because it shows an active campus community.

"That's advertisement for some event that doesn't require poster board or paper, or some type of material that's made from a precious resource," Curson said. "I don't know where chalk comes from, or how chalk is mined from the earth … but on the surface, it would appear that it would save more resources."

Curson also said that chalk naturally decays off pavement when people walk over it and when it rains.

"It's better than spray paint, right?" he said.

Tony Forte can be reached at tforte@theorion.com

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