Letter to the editor: mindful protesting

By Josh Hill     10/8/19 10:09pm

Last week, I was dismayed to hear that over the course of protests happening at the university, chalk was used to deface multiple buildings across campus. A desire to strongly express feelings is understandable; however, it seems the vandals paid little attention to the burden their actions placed on those responsible for removing the writing. These actions were undertaken from a position of privilege, one where someone else will eventually come clean up after you. The men and women in Rice Facilities Engineering and Planning take pride in their work and had no part in the administrative policies being protested. 

Having worked in facilities maintenance and janitorial roles prior to graduate school, I can say that incidents like this amount to a large burden for those tasked with the cleaning, over and above their existing daily responsibilities and work orders. The students who didn’t deface campus and who publicly stood behind their convictions were the ones who most consciously and powerfully conveyed their disapproval.

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