Students reclaim The Fence after vandalism, but the tradition hangs in the balance
The Fence, governed by uncodified traditions at CMU, was vandalized last week, but Student Government and CMU administration have little recourse for the act.
Sometime between Sunday evening and Monday morning, The Fence was vandalized. Before, it read “Black Lives Matter,” but it was vandalized to read “All Lives Matter,” with the word Black crossed out.
It didn’t take long for students to show up to repaint The Fence, according to Publisher Sujay Utkarsh, with some students staying into the night to make sure The Fence was protected.
Between Monday evening and Tuesday morning, 107 signs were placed around campus, reading things like “Black Engineer Lives Matter,” Black Designers Matter,” “Poor Black Lives Matter,” and more. The most prominent sign on campus is featured below.
Lucy Monroe/The Tartan
An updated COVID dashboard for Carnegie Mellon was recently released, and they now provide data on an almost daily basis. There is case data on students who live on and off campus, and also on faculty, staff, and contracted laborers who are classified as on or off campus.
Currently, four students on campus and eight students off campus are confirmed to have COVID. Five faculty and staff off campus were confirmed positive last week, but no faculty or staff have tested positive this week. In total, the last two weeks have seen 17 positive cases of COVID on campus.
The university also provides data on asymptomatic testing for students, where 1,813 students have been tested. Eight have returned positive for a .44 percent positive rate. At this time, no data is provided regarding asymptomatic testing of faculty, staff, or contracted laborers. Additionally, no university-wide communications have established a testing plan for asymptomatic, or symptomatic, employees of the university.
In Allegheny County, the situation is much the same. Cases are varying anywhere from around 100 reported in any one day to around ten cases a few days later. Seven day trends have stayed relatively flat.
Recent seven day trends have cases in the U.S. staying flat, but the last two days have seen a worrying spike in cases. Scientists are worried, not only about Labor Day Weekend, but the fall at large.
News of the Week
After the vandalism of The Fence on Monday morning, it was readily apparent that the traditional rules had been broken. There was a flurry of emails and statements that all denounced the act, but little news was given about possible recourse for the tradition-breaker(s).
It seems, at this point, little can be done.
Since the email went out, the student government executive has met informally to discuss actions, but they have had difficulty enforcing the existing graffiti and postering policy. As O’Connell put it, “this incident is really complicated by the fact that it took place on The Fence… if this [vandalism] was done on a wall or on a sidewalk, I think it would be very, very clear cut.”
As of now, the rules that govern The Fence are essentially unofficial, existing outside of student government or university enforcement. “We, as students, can probably name several rules that we think govern the fence,” O'Connell said, but, “a lot of those rules are not codified at all, and aren't in the graffiti and postering policy.”
From News Editor Adam Tunnard, his interview with student body leaders provided information about The Fence and last week’s op-ed alleging a rushed and informal reduction of the student activities fee.
Extra, Extra!
An editor for The Philadelphia Inquirer who resigned after allowing publication of the headline, “Buildings Matter, Too,” is hired by The Post-Gazette as an executive editor.
Between the ending of PA’s eviction moratorium and a CDC order banning evictions for people with low income, 180 evictions were filed in one day in Pittsburgh. Right now, Allegheny County has only approved 1% of rental assistance applications.
The officer who killed Romir Talley in Wilkinsburg is also the officer who initially reported the mural of Talley. Now, three people are facing felony charges for painting the mural.
Voices of CMU
It’s been hard for athletic departments to adapt to COVID. The suspension of almost all in-person contact has put sports like football, basketball, hockey, etc., at a disadvantage. Carnegie Mellon has suspended all sports on campus.
However, one group on campus is thriving. The CMU esports organization is weathering the pandemic. While some may argue that esports doesn’t compare, Forum Editor Madeline Kim disagrees. While esports may take place in a virtual format, the teamwork and skills often required by the games at a professional level are similar to that of the Big 4 sports in the U.S.
A Few More Words
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Event Calendar
Monday - SLICE Involvement Week starts
Tuesday - “How to be Politically Engaged” with the Graduate Student Assembly
Wednesday - Advocacy and Infectious Disease: Lessons from HIV Advocacy in the Age of COVID
Thursday - INTERSECT@CMU to Focus on Pandemic's Long-Term Effects on Health, Sustainability, Economy, Education
Friday - Reclaiming Space: Connection Hour with Our Immigrant Community
Saturday - Civil Saturdays
Sunday - Neighborhood Flea
That’s all, folks! See you next week.
The Tartan
postscript.
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