The Word Wall: Preserving a ‘Time Capsule’

Every day for the past week, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. a triangular wooden structure covered in canvas has stood quietly in the center of College Walk. John DeSerio, GS, created what he’s dubbed the “Word Wall” as an outlet for Columbia students to scribble messages, thoughts, and comments in the wake of recent bias incidents across campus.

What prompted you to create the Word Wall?

After the past three hate crimes in bathrooms and at Teachers College, and after going to a number of panels where I heard people talking about it, there seemed like there was a real need for a forum for people to express themselves. There was a lot of anger and a lot of pain that everyone needed to let out, and I knew that the administration and student councils were really looking for a way to reach out to students.

I had this idea that the whole Columbia community needed a wall so that people could write whatever’s on their mind, whether it has to do with hate crimes or with how they’re feeling about their classes. Of course, I had to worry. Will it prompt more hate speech? Will more people come and write awful things on the wall? I want people to take ownership for their words—and if people are willing to publicly write things that are volatile, well, I want to hear what they have to say.

Do you see this project as aligning itself more with art or reportage?

It’s a wonderful marriage and it complements both, I think. I guess it’s a reflection of who I am as a student and as an artist.

What have been some of the more interesting messages that you’ve seen?
I actually read the Bwog today, and someone made a comment about things they’d seen on the wall—but I’ve been there every day, and I’ve never seen any of the negative comments they’ve pointed out, so I’m curious to see if they’re actually there.

Generally, I’m really happy with the comments. They’re so interesting: from things like “We are all fools,” to “We don’t need cage-free eggs,” to quotes by Hobbes. That’s the thing with art and improvisation—you never know what’s going to happen. It’s a collaboration.

And that’s why College Walk and Low Plaza are so important—for the people who weren’t in those panels, we brought the panel discussion to them. They might not know they need to be talking about this, but then they realize that they have something to say.

What are your plans for the wall once you remove it from College Walk?

From the beginning I’ve wanted it to be something lasting—an exhibit, an installation, something like that. I want to be able to present it later as a time capsule. This is where we came together as a community during these terrible crimes against all of us—this is where we moved on and grew.

By Friday at 6, all the writing will stop, and the Word Wall will be cemented in time. I’d love to have it shown in Low Library or Lerner somewhere, or at any school that would want it as an example of how we feel as Columbians and not necessarily what the media’s been telling everyone.

How do you think the mainstream media has handled coverage of the recent events at Columbia?

It’s hard to generalize media coverage because every paper, every source, does it differently. But you know, it’s news—they’re going to find the sensationalism in everything because they want you to read it. And in that, you lose the little parts that made it human—and this [the wall] is very human, it’s very organic. These are the people’s words in the context in which they want it presented. I want everyone to experience something for him or herself. Don’t believe what people tell you. Make up your own line.

What do you want people to take away from the project?

Especially after Wednesday’s swastika, I really want people to go away with the ability to have a constructive argument about issues that are dear to them—those that are volatile and about hate. I want them to be able to have a constructive discussion in a way that befits an educational institution. And if people can express themselves by using the wall, that can only be the launch pad. It can’t stop here.

Daniella Zalcman can be reached atdaniella.zalcman@columbiaspectator.com.