254 Undercurrents Matis B. Tatis: graffiti at Harding Expressing oneself is a basic human need. Everyone needs to feel that their ideas, dreams, values and sometimes fantasies are communicated to the rest of the world. Graffiti results from this need and therefore will probably outlast all attempts to curb it. A look around the Harding campus indicated the phenomenon exists here, and because of its moral and social overtones, merits a closer examination. Just what is graffiti? It comes from the Latin graffito, meaning "scribble," and is found on trees, bathroom walls, desk tops, rocks, water towers, bridges, subways, fences, casts-crnd buildings - in short, wherever people are. Lew Moore, associate professor of psychology, identified three classes of graffiti - cultural, personal and subconscious. Cultural graffiti is most commonly found in large urban areas on buildings and fences and in subway stations, and is sometimes called "people's art." Personal graffiti often is written on bathroom walls, and subconscious graffiti can be found on desk tops. At Harding one could find messages of an obscene nature if he looked hard enough - drawings, phrases, smutty poetry - material some would be shocked to find at a Christian school. But often just below the obscenity one would find an example of "countergraffiti," ranging from a simple "Would Jesus do this?" to a resounding 'Those with this problem will burn in Hell somedavf" Not all graffiti wa's vulgar, however. Some was sarcastic, such as "Cancer cures smoking"; political. such as "No Nukes"; religious, such as "Jesus Saves"; or humorous, such as "98% of all the women in Arkansas are beautiful; EXHIBITING his own brand of graffiti, Sam Pratt puts his signature on the center beam of the Benson Auditorium. JILL DEACON. Waverly, OH. Dietetics. OEGE Officer; AHEA ; Spring Break CampaiQns DONNA DENISON· Powhatan, AR. Accounting. Tofebt Officer; Alpha Chi; American Studies; Northeast Campaigns; Spring Break Campaigns; JOY; Young Americans for Freedom. DEBORAH DENNEY. St. Louis, MO. Social Work. NACSW . KATHY DILLARD· Cass City, MI. Home Econom ics and Textile Merchand iSing. Transfer from Michigan Chr istian College. Theta Alpha Gamma; Spring Break Campaigns. MARK. DILLARD· Pontiac:, MI. Bib le. Transfer from Michigan Chnstlan College Theta Alpha Gamma Officer; Timothy Club. PAnl JO DILLARD· Tempe, AI. Management . leta Rho Officer; A Cappella; American Studies; May Campaigns; Chorale; Sophomore Class Secretory; Chi Sigma Alpha Queen; Delta Mu Delta; Intromurals; JOY; Orchestra; Pi Gamma Psi; SA Academic Affairs Committee; Who's Who . BEny DOMINGO· Livermore, CA. Nursing. Transfer from Chabot College. Delta Ch i Omega; Student Nurses Association DOUGLAS DOUGHERTY • Greensburg, PA. Elementary Education. Transfer from Westmins ter College . Beta Phi Kappa; Bison Bond Honor Guard; SNEA; Timothy Club ; Young Republicans. RICHAR~ DULL • Clemmons, NC. Accounting and Computer ApplicoliOns . Beta Phi Kappa; Amencon Studies; Circle K. LISA DUNCAN· Normal, IL. English . Transfer from Illinois Wes leyan College. OEGE; A Cappella; Alpha Chi; Int ramural AIIStar; May Fete Royalty; Sigma Tau Delta; University Singers ; Alpha lambda Delta VICKIE DURRINGTOH • Wichita, KS. Elementary Educati on. Trans fer from Oklahoma Christian College. Regina; A Cappella; Chi Sigma Alpha Queen; Dramatics ; May Queen; Who's Who . LOU ANN EADS • Bradford, AR. Biology . Tofebt; Pre-Medical Club; Dean's list BETH. EASON. Little Roc:k, AR. Elementary Education. GATA; Btg Sisters ; SNEA; Dean's l ist . JOHN EASON • Jackson, TN. Biology. Sub T -16; Intramural AIIStar; Football Team; Pre -Med ical Club; Spanish Club. TERRY EDWARDS. Searc:y, AR. Music Educati on. Chi Sigma Alpha; A Cappello; A Tempo; Belles and Beaux; International Campaigns; Chamber Singers; Chorale; Intramurols; Soccer Team; Table Tennis Team; Petit Jean Staff; Resident Ass istant ; SNEA; University SinQers . Graduating Seniors the other 2 % go to Harding. " Moore explained the rationale behind graffiti by saying that it represents several things, but mostly a person's self-perception. 'There is a personality in graffiti," he said. "It may be immaturity, impotency, sexual aggression or whatever." Moore also called graffi ti a "communicable behavior" and "messages of the moment." "The behavior -of one person becomes a stimulus to another," he said. "A lot of people who write on bathroom walls are compulsive persons, reactors rather than actors." The place where the graffiti was written also had something to do with the message. In the music building this brief stanza was found: "Roses are red; Violets are blue; If you don't like Mozart, I don't like you." And in the library this simple sonnet was written: "Man's ambition is small, To write on the bathroom waLl." The upstairs men's room in the library was the most prolifiC and notorious place for graffiti. One
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