Wall Project Tumbles Down
By Allison Candreva
February 4, 2008
Alligator Contributing Writer
As the crowd counted down from 10, the Writing on the Wall staff members checked their safety goggles and gripped their ropes tightly.
Cameras went off as the 40-foot by 7-foot wall pounded the ground and broke into pieces. The dust settled and students from the crowd jumped into the rubble to shatter unbroken pieces.
The closing ceremony of the sixth annual Writing on the Wall Project was held Friday afternoon. A crowd of about 50 people gathered on the Plaza of the Americas to watch the wall fall to the ground.
Allan Spear Construction assembled the wall Jan. 28 from blocks painted with stereotypical phrases and words of discrimination. The project was intended to literally and metaphorically break down a wall of hatred and oppression,
according to a fact sheet.
University of Florida student Victoria Ajayi won an essay contest and read her essay at the ceremony.
A hateful word is nothing, absolutely nothing, without people,
Ajayi said.
Even though she did not paint her own block, there were definitely ones she could identify with.
We, as human beings, have an enormous responsibility to one another,
she said. We must eradicate these words.
Lesa Boykin, a residence director for Maguire Village and University Village South at UF, gave a presentation and read a spoken-word poem called Lets Be Careful.
Boykin said the project gets people thinking.
We have got to go out of our own comfort zones and build relationships,
she said.
Lucinda Poudrier-Aaronson, the faculty adviser for the project, said about 380 blocks were painted.
Aaronson said, who has been the adviser for the past two years, said she likes the project because it generates discussion.
Dialogue is important,
Aaronson said, It will move people to action. It will bring the community together.