Political graffiti causes confusion on campus

Late Monday evening, areas surrounding the Lory Student Center

Plaza were spray-painted with political graffiti reading, “I

(heart) Bush” and “Stop Liberal Graffiti,” with csurepublicans.com

painted underneath.

Earlier this semester the CSU College Republicans implemented

its “Campus Insanity Project” to help clean up political graffiti

on campus, as well as to recognize what the organization believed

to be a predominantly liberal amount of it.

Fogland and the CSU Republicans deny any involvement in the

recent graffiti markings.

“Nobody in our organization had anything to do with that,”

Fogland said.

The College Republicans do not intend to stifle free speech with

its program, but the group to make the student body aware of the

amount of liberal graffiti and clean it up, said Chuck Fogland,

chairman of CSU Republicans.

Fogland said he has contacted all the members of CSU Republicans

and that no one in the organization is claiming responsibility or

association with the graffiti.

“I sent out an e-mail to everyone (in CSU Republicans) that we

don’t tolerate this,” Fogland said. “We don’t want to be associated

with that type of action.”

The graffiti may be in response to the Campus Insanity program,

Fogland said.

“There’s some folks out there who have some vendettas against us

because of Campus Insanity,” Fogland said. “It’s like a slap in our

face and quite frankly, we’re very upset about it.”

Some members of the Young Democrats have also volunteered to

help clean up the graffiti around campus but have shown some

disapproval toward the Campus Insanity project.

“The CSU Democrats were frustrated to even be associated with

(graffiti),” said Josh Metten, vice president of Young Democrats.

“It makes our campus look bad and it makes the liberal perspective

look bad.”

A lot of people are frustrated with Campus Insanity because

there is a difference between free speech and graffiti, a

difference the CSU Republicans organization has not seen, Metten

said.

Fogland and the CSU Republicans have filed a formal police

report to the CSU Police Department, but they are not optimistic

that a culprit will be found. The case is currently under

investigation.

Capt. Bob Chaffee of CSUPD shares their doubts.

“I can tell you in general we occasionally will disrupt

something (graffiti related),” said Capt. Chaffee. “My estimate is

that it’s only 5 or 10 percent of the time though.”

Simply cleaning up the graffiti and not making a big issue out

of it is the best way to handle graffiti that is specifically aimed

at groups, Chaffee said.

“It’s one of these spirals of a response to a response to a

response,” Chaffee said. “To challenge (graffiti painters) will

only provoke them.”

While political tempers will be escalating as election season

moves in, some students believe permanent graffiti is an

inappropriate outlet for free speech.

“I think graffiti is taking the right to express yourself too

far,” said Brooke Davy, a sophomore human development and family

studies major. “When you put it on a public building it raises the

issue from free speech to a lack of respect.”