October 2007 Knox Banner Incident

The October 2007 Knox Banner Incident was a series of events occurring around the weekend of Homecoming 2007.

Installation

As part of the gussying-up process for Homecoming and the accompanying Board of Trustees meeting, Facilities Services installed light pole banners in various places around campus, most notably along South Street between Prairie Street and Academy Street and also on West Street, Berrien Street, and Cedar Street. The banners were mounted on newly installed horizontal mounts on the top end of the Sternberg lights and secured with plastic ties. The banners were within more or less easy reach of the ground due to the short stature of the Sternberg lights. There were two sign designs: the school's Old Main logo, and the We Are Knox slogan.

Removal

Late Friday night before Homecoming, a large number of the signs, including most of the signs along South Street, were defaced with stencils and spray paint, and these were promptly removed. Other signs were simply slashed with a knife. The vandalsim was first discovered during the six-kilometer run that kicked off Homecoming, and the signs were quickly removed Saturday morning.

The text on the spraypainted signs included altered Knox slogans such as "We Are Lost," "We Are Broke," and "We Are For Sale." Twenty-two banners were defaced.

On Monday, October 22, 2007, Roger Taylor (through Lisa Welch and Karrie Heartlein) sent an all-campus e-mail about Homecoming that included at its end a discussion of the banner incident. It suggested that Student Senate would be asked to discuss the matter at its next meeting.

Roger Taylor E-Mail

To: the Knox Community --

Homecoming 2007 was a special celebration of Knox College and the 150th birthday of Old Main. A record number of alumni and friends of the College attended.

The number of activities for returning alumni has been dramatically increased, thanks to the hard work of many faculty and staff. Readings, lectures, and exhibits have enriched the celebration.

The College always has tried to find ways for alumni to meet current students. Interactions between students and alumni show the alumni that Knox students have the same sensitivity toward others that alumni had when they were students.

As reported in the October 18, 2007 edition of "The Knox Student", the College made a special effort this year to involve even more students in Homecoming activities, including as guests, hosts, and ambassadors at Homecoming activities. One of the special student activities -- the Old Main birthday cake, student organization "bake off" -- gave hundreds of alumni and students a chance to mingle.

Alumni told me that they just loved talking with students during the various Homecoming events. I thank all of the Knox students who made alumni feel welcome this past weekend.

The men and women in the Facilities Services staff made a special effort to enhance Homecoming this year and to brighten the campus for students, faculty, and staff. They worked very hard last week installing Knox banners on light poles on South and West Streets and around campus.

Regrettably, late Friday evening or early Saturday morning, vandals destroyed many of the banners and defaced others. Stencils and spray paint were used to deface -- demonstrating that the vandalism was premeditated. The content of graffiti on the defaced banners strongly suggests that the acts of vandalism were committed by members of the Knox Community.

Facilities Services staff with whom I have talked have expressed disappointment -- to say the least -- that their hard work to enhance the campus was marred by vandalism.

I have asked Dean Romano and the Student Senate to provide me with their counsel on this sad situation.

Roger

Controversy

Some students claimed to be upset that Knox put banners up in the first place, claiming that they created a more physical border between the campus and Galesburg. Others were angry at the school for this type of marketing and for marketing in general, despite the fact that the college needs money to operate. Some students do not understand this concept.

Senate Action

At the Student Life Committee meeting of Tuesday 23 October 2007, Xavier Romano and Brad Middleton jointly announced their intent to seek $1100 ($50 per banner) from the Student Senate Discretionary Fund to cover part of the cost of the banners (the total cost of which was estimated at $75 each excluding labor costs). The appropriation was passed unanimously by the Senate Finance Committee, but came against much more opposition in the full Senate, and ultmately the appropriation was rejected 22-15.

While the administration and the appropriation's supporters felt that the appropriation would send a message that the students would not tolerate vandalism, many others felt that the appropriation smacked of a punitive measure by the administration, and that the source of the appropriation money, the Discretionary Fund, was better spent on clubs and events as the money was originally intended to be spent. The voluntary fundraiser to cover the cost would, some thought, send a much better message than taking it from clubs who were not responsible for the damage..

Pumpkin Banner

Monday night or Tuesday morning following Homecoming, a moldy pumpkin with the words "We Are Knox" written on it in magic marker was impaled on an empty banner mount of a Sternberg light in front of Wilson House along South Street. The pumpkin was obviously meant as a parody of the banners. The students responsible have not been identified, although some speculate that IVCF was involved.