In his 34th year as a teacher and his 28th year teaching at the University, Prof. Jack Lindgren said he uses the same philosophy for his Commerce School students that he uses for his golf game.

“Don’t ever think you’ve mastered it — keep trying to achieve more,” Lindgren said.

Lindgren started out as a general marketing professor focusing on consumer behavior, but in 1979 he created the University’s first course in advertising at the request of one of his students. Since then, Lindgren has continued teaching the course and offering students the chance to obtain real-world knowledge of the advertising world.

As a year’s summation of work, Lindgren has his students enter the American Advertising Federation’s annual competition in which students create their own advertisements. Taking part in the competition was suggested by the same student who requested the advertising course.

“I use the competition because it provides students with a hands-on, real-life application,” Lindgren said. “We don’t have to make up something in class. It’s a real company and they want real help.”

The competition includes approximately 300 schools and 6,000 students nationwide, Lindgren said. In the past two years, Lindgren’s students have taken second in the nation.

Lindgren, who is also the marketing area coordinator for the Commerce School, said he always saves spots in his classes for College students.

“I think they are very important to our class because they provide a different perspective than our Commerce students have — not necessarily better, but different,” Lindgren said.

This mixture of students in class transfers over to a mixture of students and professors in the grass for the Commerce school’s annual golf tournament.

Of course, Lindgren said he enjoys this event since he plays golf “every chance [he] possibly can.”

Inviting along both his fellow student golf-lovers and students who do not play, Lindgren said he just tries to make the tournament into a big party.

People who do not play “just ride along and have fun, typically laughing at us … no, maybe with us,” Lindgren said.

In addition to his love for the game, Lindgren said the tournament provides a good opportunity to bond and have fun with his students outside the classroom.

“You care about the camaraderie about being together as a group,” Lindgren said.

This camaraderie continues past the students’ graduations from the University. Lindgren said he keeps in contact with many of his students from the past, including his student from 1979 who first requested the advertising class and now helps Lindgren teach the course.

In only a few short months, 19-year-old Lauren Munchak made a profound impact on the Uni-versity community. On March 5, first-year College student Munchak lost her ongoing fight with cancer.

“She never let her illness get her down,” said fourth-year Education student LeAnn Schmidt, a close friend of Munchak. “I never once saw her without a smile on her face. She was so determined to keep up her life.”

Lauren Munchak was born in California on May 23, 1986. Soon after her birth, Lauren’s family moved to Northern Virginia where they currently reside. Her family learned early in her life that Lauren was something special.

“She was involved with a lot of things when she was younger, like Girl Scouts and Brownies,” Lauren’s mother Mary Munchak said. “One summer when she was in fifth or sixth grade, she was selected for the People-to-People Program in Australia. She raised nearly $2,000 all by herself for the trip.”

Her mother said Lauren loved horseback riding, volunteering at the hospital where her mother worked and trying all kinds of sports.

“Even though she never really excelled at sports, she tried everything,” Mary Munchak said. “She tried skiing, ice skating, soccer and I think she ran track in high school.”

Lauren attended Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Va. It was during the end of her senior year there when she was first diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma. According to the American Cancer Society, Ewing’s Sarcoma is a rare bone tumor that affects roughly 250 children and adolescents each year — especially people between the ages of 10 and 20.

According to Mary Munchak, who is a medical technician, the disease has a 75 percent survival rate.

“We were in Indiana to visit schools and that’s when we discovered the lump on her leg,” Mary Munchak said. “Two days later she was on her way to Europe. When she came back we told her it was probably cancer.”

Lauren was still able to finish out her senior year and go to her senior prom.

“In high school, Lauren had a friend who had collapsed during his freshman year and almost died,” Mary Munchak said. “It was right before prom when we found out about the cancer, so the two of them developed a special bond because she was ill and he had nearly died. They went to prom together.”

Lauren was accepted to the University during her senior year, but was medically deferred for one year because of the cancer.

“She was really worried about getting medically deferred because she was so excited about going to U.Va.,” Mary Munchak said.

Lauren finished her chemotherapy treatments in March of last year and was able to attend the University as a first year last fall.

Before she started school, Lauren got to take her Make-A-Wish trip to London.

“She picked London because she was supposed to go there with her senior class but she couldn’t because of her illness,” Mary Munchak said.

Part of Lauren’s wish was for her family to accompany her, and they did.

Lauren Munchak started at the University in August.

When it seemed like things were finally going right for her, she received yet another blow.

“She went in for a scan near the end of September,” Mary Munchak said. “The results showed the tumor was back. When she found out she cried a little, but then looked at me and said, ‘If I beat it once, I can beat it again.’”

Her friends said despite her condition, she still led a relatively normal college life.

“She was very quirky and had a great sense of humor,” first-year College student and suitemate Elise Bui said. “She loved the Food Network. She was always very considerate of everyone in the suite and she would always come back from home with a plate of cookies for us.”

Though she was forced to miss classes for treatments, Lauren was able to maintain a high level of scholastic performance.

“She would have to go to the Children’s Hospital in [Northern Virginia] every two weeks, then she would come back to school,” Schmidt said. “The whole time she was keeping up her grades. She would never skip class. If she got sick during class, she would excuse herself momentarily, take care of the problem and go right back. She was such a trooper through it all.”

Lauren was not only dedicated to her studies, but to several student groups as well. She was an active participant in Fighting, Overcoming, and Responding to Cancer Everywhere, Relay for Life and the Catholic Student Ministry.

“She was very diligent about coming to meetings and was extremely involved in everything we did,” said F.O.R.C.E. President Kaci Hinkel, a third-year Commerce school student. “She did a lot of great things for our cause and never let the fact that she had the disease over-shine everything else going on. She was a silent shiner.”

One such great thing was her ability to fundraise.

“She was able to raise over $1,000 for our Relay for Life team,” Hinkel said.

Amidst all her fundraising efforts for organizations dedicated to fighting cancer, Lauren learned in January that new test results showed that the cancer had spread into her lungs, which is what ultimately led to her death.

The Catholic Student Ministry recently honored Lauren with a memorial service.

“Some of her friends did the readings and then we each went up and said some words for her,” Schmidt said. “Afterwards we had a reception where we had some of her favorite foods. She loved cheese and snickerdoodles, so we ate those.”

There are several other upcoming services to commemorate Lauren’s life and courage. F.O.R.C.E. plans to add her to their Hope Garden behind Pavilion IX, where they have honored students, faculty and staff who have died of cancer.

“We are going to be adding a plaque and planting daffodils in her honor,” Hinkel said. “This will all take place at a service in the garden where we will have people who knew her come out and speak about her.”

Lauren’s Relay for Life teammates also have special plans to honor their friend. Third-year Nursing student Lyndsay Wilson said their tent will have T-shirts bearing Lauren’s name.

Mary Munchak said she hopes her daughter’s life will inspire people. “People will remember her creative spirit and her smile,” she said. “She led a good, holy life. She wanted to help people and show them by her example. She led an exemplary life.”

I have been in college too long. Or at least it feels that way. Whilst this might be a standard feeling that a number of you share with me, I am going to attempt to do something about it. I am going to compile a list of everything I have learned in college.

Is it beneficial for you? Probably not, but that’s hardly important to me. This is therapy — my therapy. It is nearing the end of semester. Winter is in clumsy retreat. Our eyes are turning again to the future. Right now I need to justify the long years and the big loan. I need to get some catharsis out of my academic journey. Moreover, I need to vanquish all the hours I have wasted on the World Wide Web searching for biographical details on the people I was interested in that particular day. I will give you an example:

Using Google, I spent last Monday afternoon looking up (in the following order) a semi-famous advertising copywriter responsible for the account of a well-known shoe manufacturer, the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916; a heroin addict/musician called Pete Doherty, a kid I know from New Zealand who plays semi-pro soccer in England, a little fish that embeds itself in one’s urethra if one chooses the wrong part of a South American river to “go bathroom” in and the results of any cricket game I could find. I don’t even like cricket that much and — funnily enough — that was part of the attraction.

Thankfully, I am not so blind that I cannot see there is a world toiling on outside. As I look at enlarged images of Mischa Barton, my ex-next-door neighbor serves in Iraq. I get his e-mails. He sends pictures of local kids he has met and his opinions on the war. He talks about his faith in the mission and his faith in God. In many ways, he demonstrates the first example of what I have learned in college. The people you meet in college are it. They are the biggest thing. It could be a professor, or it could be your roommate. Or it could be the lady with no teeth who works in the electronics department at Wal-Mart — except that she doesn’t go to college but she is pretty cool anyway. Though my neighbor and I are different on many levels, he has had an impact on my life. And he’s just one of many.

With our wonderfully human predilection toward self-centeredness, it is sometimes difficult to remember that this whole “life thing” is a collective experience. Late semester anxieties and stress about the future rise to the fore, I know. Worries about all that we can’t control sometimes seem to take root and hold on for dear life. Our already much-too-subjective focus turns ever more inward. At times like this it is easy to ignore the little pleasures — the interaction in the hallway, the smile across the Lawn from someone you don’t know. As some cheeseball said in some movie, “That’s the good stuff.” Okay, now I know I have definitely gone too far. I sound like I am in the process of a Life columnist try-out for Oprah’s magazine. Together we have gone deep. We have discussed duty to one’s country and God. We have talked about the wonderful benefits of friendship. Now back to me.

What else have I learned in college? I learned to write short, terse sentences. That didn’t really last — I really like to ramble on and on, I like to use commas, and due to this I think I have some French in me or at least the illusion that beneath my glaring lack of talent lies New Zealand’s version of F. Scott Fitzgerald. I have learned that second-guessing one’s instincts can end in disaster. I am prouder still to say I didn’t learn that from multiple-choice tests. I have learned that an argument should be just that, and not a fight. Thankfully I didn’t have to get punched in the face to learn that one.

I have learned to try and relax, though that is a work in progress. I have learned there’s no substitute for pursuing what you would love to do, not what you think you should do. A near brush with an almost career choice taught me that. It has been one of the longer lessons. I have learned losing yourself in a task you enjoy is worth almost anything. Most importantly, I have also learned I am not particularly gifted when it comes to giving advice, so disregard the aforementioned at will.

However, here’s one piece of advice I feel ready to dispense because I think it really is true. We are told that at certain moments such as graduation and certain birthdays we should be all grown up. As we all know, that is rarely the case. In conclusion, I have learned to be excited by the process of getting older and (shock horror!) maturing.

So what else have I learned? I can’t remember right now. It’s a bit like that though, isn’t it? Ryan Adams said it best: “I am in the twilight of my youth. … Not that I am going to remember.”

Chris Garland is an exchange student from New Zealand. His column runs biweekly on Thursdays.

College third-year Ross Baird was awarded a Truman Scholarship, the Harry S. Truman Foundation announced yesterday. The scholarship provides $30,000 to put toward graduate school, in addition to many other networking opportunities, such as internships, public service, leadership programs and graduate school programs.

This year there were 598 applicants for 75 total scholarship winners, said Tara Yglesias, deputy executive secretary for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. After an initial review, approximately 225 applicants were selected for interviews. Each state is awarded one scholarship and there are also several “at-large” scholarships.

Baird, who is Third Year Council president, was selected as one of the representatives from the state of Georgia.

“I’m very, very excited about the opportunity,” Baird said. “It’s such an honor, but it’s surprising too. I thought I did the best I could with my application and interview, but these things are such a crapshoot. So many others had applications that were just as good as mine.”

The scholarship is awarded to students in their third year of college who represent the ideals of the foundation: commitment to public service, a record of leadership and notable academic achievement, Yglesias said.

Baird has received other recognition in the past, including a David A. Harrison III Undergraduate Research Award to study political participation in Europe, under the tutelage of Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato.

“Ross is a terrific recipient and he fully deserves it, and I’m delighted to see a student of that ability to represent the University in the Truman Scholarship competitions,” Sabato said.

When asked about Baird’s future, Sabato noted his aspirations for public service.

“He’ll inevitably go into politics–and that’s a good thing!” Sabato said. “We need good people in politics and public policy. That’s one of the main motivations for the Truman Scholarship–to find good people for the future of politics and public policy.”

According to Nicole Hurd, director of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence, Baird typifies an ideal University student.

“He’s someone who engages the community around him,” Hurd said. “He’s a very selfless leader and always thinks about ways to make the world a better place.”

Steve Gilday, the third-year Engineering student convicted in an open honor trial Sunday, filed his intent to appeal yesterday.

On Sunday, a jury of 10 random students found Gilday not guilty of cheating by falsifying a page of a BIOL 301 exam which he submitted for a re-grade. However, the jury found him guilty of lying to his professor, Laura Galloway.

“I don’t want to talk about specifics right now, but we definitely have some very, very broad issues we’re going include in our appeal,” Gilday said.

Gilday said he filed a “good cause” appeal.

Good cause appeals can include incompetent counsel, issues of fundamental fairness and issues of timeliness, Honor Committee Chair David Hobbs said.

Gilday said he cited timeliness as a factor in his appeal.

“I realize the Honor Committee does their best to try to speed things along but I was asked to recall conversations that happened five months ago,” he said. “Things could have been sped up … and that could have affected the outcome.”

According to Hobbs, the five months between Galloway’s initiation of the charges and Sunday’s trial is not unusual.

“I would say [the process can last] anywhere from two months to upwards of eight months,” Hobbs said.

Gilday also said for the time being he expects to keep his original trial counsel, Nikki Cowing and Sam Leven.

This could change, according to Cowing.

“Oftentimes it helps [students] to have one of their counsel appear as a witness,” Cowing said. “We may or may not continue to be counsel depending on the context of the appeal.”

Hobbs said relief is rarely granted for an appeal.

“When we see something that’s gone wrong we certainly make amends but because we run the process fairly tightly –usually there aren’t a lot of appeals that are granted relief,” Hobbs said.

Relief can mean a new investigation panel, a new trial or the dismissal of charges.

Gilday has said if he is given a new trial, those proceedings will be open as well.

The Princeton Review ranked the University seventh in its list of top-valued public undergraduate colleges in a report released Tuesday.

Robert Franek, vice president of publishing at the Princeton Review, said this is the third year the Princeton Review has published its book, “America’s Best Value Colleges.”

This year the book features two top-10 lists: the best value public colleges and the best value private colleges, Franek said.

Franek explained that the Princeton Review uses a specific algorithm to create a “point system” to rank the colleges.

The company looks at a variety of factors to determine which colleges make the list, including academic factors, cost and financial aid, Franek said.

First, the Princeton Review considers the competitiveness of the schools based on admission criteria, he said. Then it considers the reactions of students and what they think of the professors and overall experience at their college or university.

According to Franek, the Princeton Review has an online survey that asks students to rank their overall experiences at their universities.

This year, over 160,000 students participated in the survey, he said.

Finally, the Princeton Review considers the financial aid offered at the schools.

Franek said this is the most crucial criterion of the algorithm because the Princeton Review not only considers how much financial aid is offered, but also gift aid, any sort of grant money the student will not have to pay back and the average debt load the student has after college.

“The germination of the idea came from high school students and their parents,” Franek said.

The Princeton Review found that when considering colleges, the main concern of high school students was cost and whether or not they could afford their top-choice school, he said.

Yvonne Hubbard, director of student financial services, said the University struggles with making high school students aware of its affordability.

Hubbard said when University administrators talk about wanting diversity, they are not only referring to race or gender but also different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Hubbard was very pleased with the ranking.

“When you say, ‘affordable,’ it doesn’t mean cheap, cut rate or discount –it means a great school that has devised a program that makes it possible for all students to come here,” Hubbard said.

Other public schools on the list included University of California at Berkeley, New College of Florida and University of North Carolina at Asheville, Franek said.

He said the main mission of the book is to make high school students and their parents aware of affordable colleges with great educational backgrounds that they may not have considered.

Administrators have responded to concerns about the academic rigor of this summer’s Semester at Sea voyage by identifying some courses ineligible for departmental credit. These courses will be eligible for elective transfer credit and the University hopes to reduce the number of courses that require such restrictions by 2007, the first year the University sets its curriculum.

Concerns about some classes offered by the Semester at Sea program prompted the provost’s office to create a new mnemonic identifying some Semester at Sea courses that will go in effect for this summer’s voyage, explained Karen Ryan, associate dean for arts, humanities and social sciences in the College.

“The provost’s office decided to do that because a number of the courses that were proposed for the summer voyage did not meet the standards to give them [College of] Arts and Sciences credit,” Ryan said.

An official e-mail sent to academic deans fromProvost Gene Block explained the new mnemonic system where “SEMS” will be used to identify classes “which do not appropriately fit in the College or Schools.”

The letter also detailed that a committee composed of members from the College, Engineering School, Education School and Nursing School was formed to facilitate faculty review of course proposals. In cases where a course proposal does not meet “expert faculty expectations, approval will not occur without adequate improvements.”

The members of the committee were presented with the new mnemonic system in a meeting March 22, said Dana Elzey, committee member and materials science professor.

The new mnemonic would equate the credits received in the program with the 18 general distribution hours required for graduation, Ryan said.

“It’s a separate mnemonic not inside the College of Arts and Sciences,” Ryan said. “It would be like taking a USEM.”

Without recognition from academic departments–indicated by a departmental mnemonic–course hours cannot be counted toward requirements for major or minor programs or other specific curricular requirements, said Spanish prof. David Gies,academic dean for the Semester at Sea summer voyage of 2007.

Still, other courses that meet the threshold for a departmental mnemonic could “possibly … be counted toward major credit or minor credit or some sort of program credit rather than only counting as general distribution requirement toward your 120 hours,” Gies said.

Elzey said there was not enough time for departments to evaluate all of the courses and this contributed to the temporary SEMS mnemonic.

“The creation of the SEMS is to alleviate the immediate concerns that the quality of the courses would not meet the departmental standards.”

David Gies said the SEMS mnemonic is expected to be used until the 2007 summer voyage when he can formulate a new curriculum that fits with department requirements.

“My job is to provide courses and suggest courses that will meet U.Va.’s very high standards and I’m excited about that challenge,” Gies said. “In this very difficult transition period we’re in right now, until U.Va. has full control of the academic program, this seems to me … sensible.”

Fifth student this year opts for open honor trial; follows guilty verdict in open trial on Sunday
The fifth student this academic year has opted to have an open honor trial, which will be held April 9.

According to Vice chair for Trials Stewart Ackerly, the Honor Committee is not permitted to release any information about the student before the trial.

Ackerly added that the student is allowed to switch to a closed trial up until the trial begins. Two of the previous four students who initially requested an open honor trial ultimately decided to close the proceedings to the public.

Open honor trials follow the same format as closed trials.

“The don’t differ in any way other than the fact that its open to the public,” Ackerly said.

Tickets for the trial will be available at the Newcomb Information Desk beginning April 3.

The Honor Committee will distribute 45 tickets, available on a first come, first serve basis.

Because the trial was reported before a spring election referenda altered the wording of the honor constitution, ‘serious’ rather than ‘not trivial’ will be used in the criteria for an honor offense.

As with any honor trial, if convicted, the student will be expelled from the University.

- compiled by Margaret Bonner

WHAT COMES to mind when you hear the word “privilege?” We hear it all the time, but we often fail to stop and ponder its true meaning. To explore this concept further, the Minority Rights Coalition hosted Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington, president and founder of the Washington Consulting Group and former professor and administrator at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Washington spoke and facilitated group discussions among attendees on Monday as part of a weeklong MRC campaign with the theme “Hoos Got Privilege.” Overall, the forum produced a constructive dialogue on the topic of privilege and exposed people to new perspectives on the subject. He shared several pieces of advice and wisdom that many of us here at the University would be wise to listen to and internalize.

One of the most important points that we sometimes forget here at the University that cannot be underscored enough is this: All of us have privilege, in one form or another and, first and foremost, we must acknowledge this. In the beginning of the session, several students observed that the conversation topic often focuses on one specific type of privilege — that associated with race. The event attempted to move beyond thinking about privilege with tunnel vision, which MRC Chair Adrienne Patton emphasized in her introduction.

Washington shared his personal story of his evolving attitudes. He recalled his sophomoric feelings toward privilege: He had none of it and was subjugated as a black man. Then, through various experiences, he had several epiphanies about the many areas in his life in which he did have privilege. As a male, his voice was heard in a corporate meeting while female voices were ignored. He doesn’t have to worry about his physical safety to the extent that women do. As a Christian, his religion is the most widely practiced in America. As a well-educated man, he is automatically given more respect and deference than a high-school dropout is. As an able-bodied person, he doesn’t have to cope with disabilities that challenge many. As you can see, privilege manifests itself in an infinite number of ways.

I asked Washington in an impromptu interview following the event if he thought there is anyone who isn’t privileged at all. He said no, but he did mention that some people don’t realize they are. This can be problematic if one adopts a negative victim hood mentality. You can always find someone smarter, richer, healthier, prettier, thinner, taller, stronger, etc. than the next person.

Some critics respond to privilege with the mind-set that it is not fair that some people have an advantage or a “leg up” in one category, and every effort should be made to offset the fortunate circumstances these people find themselves in. However, this sentiment is impossible to achieve (and completely irrational). One cannot and should not want to engineer a society in which every member is average in every way in hopes of expunging all shreds of privilege. In order to accomplish this, the government would have to adopt regulative mechanisms reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut’s short story “Harrison Bergeron.” In this futuristic story, everyone’s talents, physical characteristics and intelligence were handicapped so that no one felt inferior.

Instead, Washington advised we acknowledge our privileges, accept them and begin to think about their implications for the way in which we interact with others. We all have an individual identity, as well as a group membership or memberships that we can’t escape no matter how much we try. We shouldn’t be ashamed or feel guilty for the privileges we have; our identities make us unique and distinguishable as well as provide us with diverse opportunities to enhance and improve society. In an e-mail response, Patton stated, “People will be humbled when they realize they have various types of privilege. We hope they will then be inclined to open their hearts and minds to help change the climate to balance out power dynamics.” A brilliant scientist who benefited from a world-class education could discover a cure for a horrible disease. A wealthy philanthropist could fund a home for abused women or an after-school program for low-income children. Many more examples exist in our midst today.

A crucial theme Washington concentrated on was the process of change that takes place when one realizes one’s areas of privilege. Often, people move from awareness directly to action, with blind emotion crowding out sound judgment. Two components — knowledge and skills — are missing. Once you are aware of aspects of privilege you can identify with, competence is necessary in influencing someone’s ignorant behavior. Washington warned against “tearing down” someone of a privileged status who is treating someone else unfairly or inequitably. Instead, approaching a situation, such as the one Washington faced in that corporate meeting, requires tact and grace in order to effectively bring about positive change. As he joked, branding his fellow males as sexist pigs wouldn’t have gotten them to listen more attentively to the women.

Washington stated, “It doesn’t mean you’re wrong or bad” if you have privilege, but you must decide what to do with the power of that privilege. That power affords the privileged the ability to change minds among their peers, if it is exercised in a judicious and tasteful manner. As members of the University community (which in itself is a tremendous privilege), let us heed Washington’s prudent guidance when addressing matters related to inequality.

Whitney Blake’s column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at wblake@cavalierdaily.com.

Last weekend, the numbers “10.72″ appeared on the side of Pavilion V on the Lawn. The numbers “10.72″ represent what the Living Wage Campaign claims to be the minimum livable hourly wage. It is also the figure that has been unceremoniously scrawled across seemingly every flat surface on Grounds in bright chalk — because reasoned debate includes graffiti. The chalking sparked a flurry of e-mails among the Lawn community and outrage from many.

Of course breaking some rules in order to advertise is nothing new — students are used to seeing flyers posted on the columns of Bryant Hall. But part of the outrage has to do with the attitude among some in the Living Wage Campaign that they are above the rules because of the supposed moral importance of their cause. Lawn resident Stewart Ackerly said, “The thing I found most upsetting was that they didn’t think they’d done anything wrong,” in reference to some members of the Living Wage Campaign.

Student Benjamin Van Dyne sent an e-mail to the Lawn list in which he identified himself as “from, but not [writing] on behalf of, The Living Wage Campaign,” saying, “The lawn is neither a museum nor the private sanctuary of its residents… issues that go to the heart of the University’s moral vision MUST have a place there, even if that is a little disruptive to the lives of its residents, no matter what the regulations say.” Van Dyne now admits that the chalking may not have been “strategically wise” and says the campaign has since addressed it. Unfortunately, the campaign seems not to have addressed the underlying attitude that belief in a certain cause puts one above the regulations of the University.

Moreover, the Lawn is in fact a museum. The Lawn is listed as a national historic monument and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As Ackerly said, the Lawn is a “national and international landmark,” and is often the fist face of the University to visitors. In an e-mail response to Van Dyne, Lawn resident William Mitchell, University Judiciary Committee vice chair for trials, pointed out the University’s policy of banning chalk writing on any vertical, brick or slate surfaces. Mitchell wrote, “The University Judiciary Committee is empowered with the ability to impose any sanction up to the dismissal of a student from the University or the termination of a CIO’s status for violations of the Standards of Conduct, which this is certainly considered.”

It may seem ridiculous to make a big deal out of chalking incident, but the incident reveals a number of problems with the living wage movement on Grounds, besides a disrespect for rules. The Living Wage Campaign prides itself on its non-hierarchical leadership structure, but the alternative to hierarchy is anarchy, which seems to have become a strategy for the Living Wage Campaign. In order to implement what they deem a living wage, the campaign needs the approval of the administration. If the administration judges the merits of a living wage based on the campaign methods, they are unlikely to grow friendlier to the idea because someone scrawls a number on a historic building in front of their parking space, or anywhere.The Campaign should re-evaluate whether antagonizing people and flaunting the rules in order to increase visibility is really the sort of visibility they want.