Spring is here which means with the nice weather the protestors come out of hibernation.

In the past few years at Syracuse University protests about wars, a sewage plant and renewable energy have all been visible and audible parts of walking to class. And while recently the renewable energy protest had some effect, these protests usually miss the point about informing the public about an issue; the message becomes lost in the shouting.

The best example of an alternative has been on display this week in three spots on campus as part of a project for architecture class focusing on space, gender and power. A group of four students created the installations, which feature a transparent sheet held up by a wooden frame. On the transparency is information about how much funding goes to student groups in pie chart form, the majority being given to University Union, with the phrase ‘Who does UU represent?’

‘We encouraged people to write on them,’ said Christine Chun, a third-year architecture major and one of the creators on the installation. ‘We wanted to know what was on people’s minds negative or positive.’

People have written on them as well, some supporting UU by citing acts the organization has brought to campus in recent years, while others have written statements in opposition to the amount of funding UU receives. Other, have missed the point entirely, writing comments on issues such as reproductive rights.

Chun said the concept was to get the information out to the students exactly how much money UU takes in, in comparison to other groups and then let the student’s decide for themselves.

The non-confrontational transparencies, by providing students with information that fosters discussion without harping on a particular agenda, have the right focus. It is a response to an on-campus issue, the student fee, and it has tangible results – the writing’s on the wall.

Projects like this and the renewable energy protests, which both focused on local issues, can really have an effect. Fostering debate and getting students to think about things they might not otherwise, can really have an effect, as opposed to just some self-righteous shouting that no one listens to.

RYAN GAINOR IS A JUNIOR PHILOSOPHY AND NEWSPAPER MAJOR. E-MAIL HIM AT RMGAINOR@SYR.EDU.

Published on April 20, 2005 at 12:00 pm