Campus graffiti proves to be little more than nuisance

"Students-revolt!" I was shocked to find this phrase spray-painted across Pickler Memorial Library this weekend, and even more surprised when I found out more sayings had been spray-painted all over campus. From "the state is murder" to "broken minds, broken hearts," I was confused about the overall point of the seemingly unrelated writings. Graffiti can be used for art, social message or change, but I don't consider this weekend's spray-painting to be anything but stupidity and vandalism.

I'm all for a powerful social message. But the phrases painted everywhere don't make sense. First of all, we're being told to revolt against something, but we don't even know what it is. Truman? Sodexo? Education? They could be asking me to revolt against bunnies for all I know. And how does "broken minds, broken hearts" fit in with the revolt messages? It sounds more like a lyric from some emo song than a means of spreading a message or change.

Mostly I find the vandalism annoying. If, as I assume, the vandals wish us to rebel against the University where we are students, then I just have to laugh. The leaders of the "revolution" remain anonymous, and therefore will not be kicked out of school for the messages they spray-painted on the walls of the University that they supposedly want to rebel against. If I'm supposed to revolt, shouldn't I know what I'm revolting against and who I'm revolting with? The graffiti has no merit and no point. It is stupid, pointless and disrespectful.

The only thing the vandalism has accomplished is to unite students and the University even more. Student-initiated Facebook groups were formed just to get students to help out the Physical Plant with clean-up.

Perhaps I am missing the point. Maybe there is a really good message behind all the spray-painting and I am super-dense. If so, there are much better ways to express ideas. A university campus is a perfect place to get ideas out there. These vandals could have started a student organization, submitted statements to TruRant or Tom Thumb or just stood in the Quad and yelled out their ideas. A college campus is the only place where a person has this many opportunities to take a stand. And instead of using those opportunities, they abused the University and insulted the students, their potential revolutionaries. If these vandals had something good to say, I would have been more than happy to listen, and if the cause had been a good one, I would not have been afraid to stand up with them. But instead, they took the beautiful buildings of our campus and made them bathroom stall doors. They made them unimportant, useless chalkboards. And I say that if you don't have any respect for the University and you want to rebel against it, then come forward, admit who you are and tell us what the point of it all was. If you really support rebelling against the school, then what does it matter if you get kicked out? Stop wasting our money, time and resources.

Spray-painting confusing, ambiguous, dumb phrases on the sides of the buildings where we get our education is not art. It is stupidity. This incident has done nothing but prove that there is nothing to revolt against. Students choose to get their education here, and they chose this week to help take care of Truman by taking down the gunk that is written on its walls. I will always support freedom of speech, but there are too many opportunities to express opinions that don't involve illegal, detrimental acts. This isn't free speech - this is the act of children spewing nonsense on our University and our ideals. The vandals got their wish in a way. This absolutely revolts me.

Brenna McDermott is a sophomore communication major from St. Louis, Mo.