On a campus visit as a senior in high school, freshman Karen Trexler saw the fish in the fountain outside Woodworth Complex decorated with sidewalk chalk. She said it was part of what she found endearing about Ball State, and she and some friends decided to replicate the decorations one night two weeks ago.
A few days after they colored the fish, campus facilities workers washed them clean. That's because Ball State has a policy against chalking on campus; it's only permitted by special permission from Facilities Planning and Management.
"I've approved it in a few cases where it's a special artistic project, but as far as using it for advertising events both on and off campus, that's a no-no," said Kevin Kenyon, Facilities Planning and Management associate vice president.
Facilities Planning and Management removes chalk drawings as soon as it is alerted and can get to them, typically within a few hours, Kenyon said. The department uses the nearest hose, or the water truck that's used to care for flower pots of landscapes around campus.
"It makes the campus look cluttered, first of all, Kenyon said. "Second of all, in my experience of all the years I've been involved with facilities - which is a zillion - sometimes you get into chalk wars between different groups. It's just not a public venue."
Trexler said she doesn't see a need for university resources to be used removing something that would fade away by rain. In the case of the fish, she said the chalk drawings were purely positive, offering nothing that could inspire chalk drawings in retaliation.
"I can see how they don't want it plastered everywhere, but the little touches of sidewalk chalk show that there's community and people doing things, and I don't know why that wouldn't be appealing," Trexler said. "The next couple of days, people were taking pictures with them, and it was just fun to see people interacting with them and enjoying them."
After learning firsthand of the university's policy prohibiting chalk drawings, Trexler said she isn't planning on using sidewalk chalk on campus again. Still, she said she's disappointed that something so child-like and simple can be misused to the point where it's not allowed.
Kenyon cited instances in the past where conflicting student groups have argued about gay rights through sidewalk chalk on campus grounds, or where students have plastered buildings' walls with advertisements for businesses. He said these situations are less prevalent now than they were in the past, and that prohibiting chalking helps limit them further. He also said the practice is in line with a university policy about keeping the look of campus clean and tidy by posting a minimum number of signs.
"We don't want to clutter up the campus too much with an excessive amount of signage," Kenyon said. "And [the chalk problem] is not like it used to be, because now you've got a million other outlets. You've got Facebook and Twitter, and there's not a need to express yourself that way as much as there was 15-20 years ago."
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