Dear Aunty Em,
Chalking is how I express myself. How can I chalk it up at Swarthmore?
Longing to Chalk
Dear Longing to Chalk,
Aunty Em has you covered. I’ve soaked in all 43,762 words of the new fine-tuned Student Code of Conduct and my cat can channel the Associate Dean & Director of Student Engagement for any additional concerns. So let’s get right to it.
At Swarthmore, everyone has differing opinions and the right to express them — so long as they don’t negatively affect the rights of others or the orderly and essential operations of the College. So the Office of Student Engagement established reasonable requirements on chalking.
No images of alcohol, commercial promotions, disparagement of groups or individuals, incitements to violence, or nudity unless you have prior written verification of its artistic merit from the chair of the Art History Department. Tic-tac-toe, hopscotch, and controversial political chalkings are not permitted.
If your chalking includes alphanumeric characters, you may use one of three fonts: Comic Sans for announcements of fun, informal social events; Times Roman publicizing performances by respected artists from off-campus; and Palatino for nerdy academic lectures. Use 44 point text for the headline and 34 point for the body.
When using colored chalk, use calming blues and greens. Avoid browns that evoke land disputes, and reds, oranges, yellows, and blacks that evoke the carnage and destruction associated with climate change and war.
No more than two identical chalkings are allowed on the same walkway. Chalkings may be no more than thirty-one and a half (31 1/2) inches wide and forty-seven and three sixteenths (47 3/16) inches long.
Chalkings are permitted only on paved, outdoor walkways. You may not chalk walkways under porches and arches. No chalkings on walkways that lead to Parrish Hall, the Dining Center, dorms, or buildings with classrooms. You may not chalk vertical surfaces, including, but not limited to, light posts, trash receptacles, trees, shrubs, succulents, and the exterior walls of the president’s residence.
Submit concept sketch(es) at least five business days in advance for approval to the Office of Student Engagement. Pro-tip: do not submit a request for a suitable marriage partner to the Office of Student Engagement with your concept sketch(es); this may result in a processing delay.
That’s it in a nutshell. The full policy can be found online at https://www.swarthmore.edu/new-draconian-student-code#chalkings
Now get out there and express yourself on those paved walkways!
Aunty Em
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Aunty Em (aka Mike Inskeep, Swarthmore Class of 1978) chose Swarthmore because he read that students there were politically active, cheered and booed the evening news together, and protested policies they opposed.
