This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Kenyon chapter.
We’ve all been there. We’ve all felt that “I have a paper to write/test to study for/huge amount of reading to do by tomorrow and the only way for me to get it done it to trap myself in an Olin cubicle for many hours” feeling. While the Olin cubicles may feel like prison cells sometimes, they do provide a surprising amount of entertainment that can make even the most painful night in the library more enjoyable. There is so much to discover in Olin that can’t be found in the books that live there. Kenyon’s own hidden artists, philosophers, and critics have taken advantage of these cubicles to start conversations and get their voices heard. It does seem as if almost every Kenyon student has added his or her mark on the campus. The Olin cubicles are so marked up by graffiti that a clean desk is very difficult to find. But do our graffiti-covered desks have anything to say about the Kenyon community as a whole? (Besides the fact that we like to procrastinate, of course.)
1. One individual uses his chosen cubicle as a vehicle to let out his or her pent-uprustration, dispensed probably by either his or her amount of work to do or by the other individuals talking extremely loudly in the library. This assertion triggersmuch response and debate, though it is still strangely hilarious to read.
Original writer: “This school is full of over privileged, self-involved, and judgmental assholes.”
Debater #1: “Too harsh”
Debater #2: “Welcome to the world sucker”
In response to debater #2: “Not all of it”
Debater #3: “And too liberal”
Debater #4: “I agree. There is no compassion for others!”
2. On the same cubicle, though a little further away to avoid the fracas, a sweeter individual tries to convince the debaters to look at the simpler, brighter side of life…
“Kenyon is a good place.”
3. These cubicles are not just a means of stating opinions. They are also blank canvases for every aspiring artist, no matter how skilled, to express his or herself without the confines of paper. Take this breathtaking image of a bird, obviously stemmed from the artist’s subconscious (or conscious) desire to fly as far away as he or she can from Olin.
4. Or take this drawing of a stick-figure girl running away from a terrifying creature. This is obviously a self-portrait, with the creature representing that paper due in five hours that she hasn’t even started yet.
5. Graffiti in Olin often comes in another language. What another great example of what a global, multi-lingual community we are here at Kenyon! I can only wish that I could understand what this says.
6. Some of what I find to be the most interesting and, at times, most heartbreaking, examples of graffiti at Olin are cries for help. There is no doubt that somebody will sit at your desk once you are finished with it. What a perfect way to enlist the advice of an anonymous stranger.
Original writer: “He doesn’t love me enough”
Wise advice-giver: “Take your love for him and love yourself instead”
7. We all may sometimes need this little reminder. Sometimes, it seems, Kenyon students are a little skeptical of written advice.
Original writer: “The worst monsters always live inside”
Skeptic: “Seriously?”
8. This skeptic seems to be a tad weary of the overabundance of English majors here.
Original writer: “Write better poetry and you’ll feel better”
Skeptic: “Obviously an idiot”
Despite the occasional disheartening calls for attention, going around to examine all of the cubicles in the library was probably the most fun I have ever had in Olin. While this graffiti may be disrespectful to college property, the writing on the desks definitely reflects who we are as a community. We are quirky, we are witty, and we are politicians, artists, philosophers, music-lovers, and therapists. We sometimes hate this little community that we, for whatever reason, have found ourselves a part of, and yet we love it. I have only scratched the surface of the myriad of words and pictures left on these desks. I will leave you with my personal favorite, which for me succeeds in summing everything up:
Ray Charles is blind
Ray Charles is God.”