When I was little, my grandmother and I used to play in my driveway with chalk. We would draw pictures, write our names, and play hopscotch and other games. It was one of my favorite things to do. It wasn't every day that it was okay to draw on things other than paper and not get in trouble.
I haven't used chalk in a long time, except for the occasional chalkboard during high-school (the building wasn't the newest), but the memory I associated with chalk drawings was always a strong and positive one. It stayed that way until recently.
If you are a student at Western Carolina University, you know that students love to draw and write messages with chalk all over the campus grounds. These drawings usually consist of university announcements, messages between members of a sorority, or just humorous and playful drawings. This school year, however, these chalk drawings have changed from playful illustrations and messages to very serious political statements. Now, I'm all for expressing your opinions and sharing them with others, but when your messages are hurtful and making people cry, things need to be evaluated. I've seen messages that read "Build a wall, and make Mexico pay for it!" and "Use your own!" accompanied by the female and male restroom symbols. Statements like these really take a toll on the people that read them, especially if they're the ones getting singled out.
These statements aren't the only ones that have caused campus-wide drama.
Earlier in the year there was an influx of drawings that stated messages such as: "Black power!" and "My life matters!" These messages received massive amounts of backlash. I personally had no issue with them, seeing as they were written by people who felt that they weren't being treated equally. They weren't calling out others, or being hateful. Like I said earlier, I'm all for freedom of speech and expression, but when you are singling out a specific group of individuals and spouting out hateful remarks, that is hate speech. Go ahead and write "Trump 2016!" Even though I don't necessarily agree with his views, it is not making derogatory remarks towards anyone directly. If it were up to me, I would revise the chalking policy and make chalking against the rules, since it has caused so much unnecessary pain and anger. I wish we could go back to when we used chalk for enjoyment. Instead of writing hateful messages on the ground, why not write something positive? I would love to walk out of my dorm and see "You are amazing!" written across the bricks. Why not get a few friends together and play a game of hopscotch? Sometimes we need to revisit our childhood to find the things that really make us happy.
"In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision."
-Dalai Lama
