It’s understandable, but it interferes with an accessibility feature.
Since mid-September 2023, the pillars that support the Solar Canopy have been wrapped in black-and-white vinyl bearing Hampshire’s logo. But these vinyl wraps are not just for general campus beautification: they were a central demand of the Disabled Students Union.
The pillars themselves are a sort of off-beige, the same as the exterior walls of the surrounding Arts Village buildings, which nicely fades into the background, making the space feel more open. However, it’s not actually a good thing for people to be unable to see pillars: they run into them. With so little contrast between the pillars and the buildings behind them, anyone with less-than perfect vision is at risk of not seeing them at all, and running headfirst into them.
The vinyl wraps, which the Disabled Student Union advocated for, make the pillars stand out against the background.
But the contrast doesn’t work nearly as well when the pattern is interrupted by posters and graffiti.
Since the vinyl wraps were installed, the Disabled Students Union and the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services have been fighting an unending battle against postering and graffiti. A month after the wraps were installed, an email asking students to refrain from graffiting or postering on the pillars was sent out. The school committed to maintaining the pillars and removing graffiti and posters, but as the original purpose of the vinyl wraps fade into the back of the student body’s collective memory, and new students come in without knowing its purpose, the postering and graffiti has only gotten worse.
Of course, the Solar Canopy is a high traffic area, and it’s entirely reasonable that people want to poster there. Asking people to avoid postering on the pillars is not a long-term solution, it will always be a war of attrition. Realistically, the Solar Canopy needs designated notice boards like many other locations on campus have. High traffic areas elsewhere have notice boards, like the FPH breezeway, and the same could easily be done for the Solar Canopy.
But in the meantime, please avoid postering or graffiting the pillars, and if you see posters on them, take them down. It might be inconvenient, but it’s not as inconvenient as cracking your skull on a concrete pillar.
DISCLOSURE: The author of this editorial is a member of the Disabled Students Union.
