Beneath the layers of Beta Bridge
March 9, 2000It's 5 o'clock on a Tuesday morning, and while most University students are nestled snugly in their beds, three early risers are standing on Rug-by Road armed with three paint rollers, a paint brush and two cans of paint. They are braving the cold to share in a University tradition: painting Beta Bridge. Constructed in 1855, the paint-battered bridge has witnessed decades of social and political history at the University, and in the last 30 years it has advocated everything from anti-war sentiment to views on the abortion debate. It is a medium of self-expression, a bold and noticeable means by which anyone can say anything. It was not until the 1970s that bridge-painting became adopted as a University tradition.
