Instead of just chalking up their political views to debate, Boston University students took to the streets on Saturday, braving their candy hangovers and drawing their messages in sidewalk chalk.
The BU Student Union and members of its corresponding freshman Executive Staff hosted the non-traditional political discussion outside Rich Hall, allowing 70 students to draw or write their political messages and ‘Chalk about the Issues.’
‘We’re trying to let people know that it’s more than just political parties, Democrats or Republicans, Obama or McCain,’Executive Staff member Chas Manning said. ‘It’s about the issues like abortion, immigration, health care, social security, women’s rights and animal rights.’
The Executive Staff, four freshmen who work regularly with the Union executive board, chose Rich Hall because of its expansive sidewalk space, but the BU Building and Grounds Department did not want students actually drawing on the sidewalks, Manning said. To keep the event alive, Executive Staff purchased black rolls of paper for the drawings instead.
Manning, a College of Engineering freshman, said the staff encouraged participants to focus on the issues, instead of attacking either candidate specifically. Executive Staff member Kathryn Fitzgerald said she thought the day proved successful, and also showed student interest in the issues.
‘It’s the Saturday after Halloween, kids are either tired or sleeping,’ Fitzgerald, a College of Arts Sciences freshman, said. ‘This is a real indication of what kids are worried about. It shows that kids aren’t apathetic and that we are really paying attention.’
Students wrote different political messages, such as ‘One Nation, One World’ and ‘Two Heads Are Better than One,’ and drew pictures of rainbows, suns and trees alongside their messages. The Executive Staff will display the paper inside the George Sherman Union on Nov. 4, Election Day.
CAS freshman Andrew Swank said he wrote ‘No Electoral College’ with his chalk.
‘It’s a really outdated system, and I think we should return to popular vote,’ Swank said. ‘We need to reform the system.’
Rick Zmudzien, a COM 2008 alumnus, said his sketches focused more on foreign oil dependency.
‘I wrote ‘drill baby, drill’ because I think people are more concerned with the environment than with the economy,’ he said. ‘It’s foolish that we have so much oil in this country that we don’t even tap into, yet we want to pay people [who] want to harm our country to import the oil.’
Union President Matt Seidel said in an email that he thinks the student vote will influence the election more than most people think.
‘I believe that, by and large, students at BU have a much better grasp of the election than the general public,’ Seidel, a CAS junior, said. ‘[B]ut we have to continue to try and involve people who, though perhaps cynical about politics, are going to be affected by this election’s outcome as much as anyone else.’
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