Eric Blommel (AB Philosophy ’92) recalls:

1. I shit, therefore I am shit.
2. For a good time, call… another school and transfer!
3. [Written on the TP dispenser] University of Chicago Diplomas. Take one.
4. The entire text of “Jabberwocky”, each stanza in different handwriting.
5. [In a girl's stall] Nature abhors a vacuum…that’s why I lost my virginity.

Twenty years later, GianCarlo Nardini remembers from Eckhart math library “Life is like a bowl of cereal. No, life IS a bowl of cereal.”

The library may frown on graffiti, but Caitlin Wylie’s admissions essay won the hearts of the people over at Admissions. To answer a question about why she wanted to go to UChicago, Caitlin (class of ’08) wrote about the graffiti she saw when visiting as a prospective student:

I knew the University of Chicago was for me when I entered the
Regenstein Library. The book smell, the computer tables, the little
study booths, and the silence all seemed pretty typical, until I
wandered into the biggest room I’ve ever seen. I tiptoed down the
infinite rows of tall metal bookcases with my jaw dropped in
admiration. After a while I reached a wall with lonely desks set into
it, and the area was so isolated that I felt a little uneasy. Then I
noticed the writing on the blank wall in front of every desk. The
millions of messages were wonderful, witty and insightful and unusual
and sarcastic. An entire physics problem spanned one wall, floor to
ceiling. There were whole conversations that obviously spanned months
of correspondence between U of C students. There was a drawing of a
gravestone bearing the words, “Here lies the hope that I will ever get
my paper done.” I love that U of C students, famous for heavy
studying, take breaks from their books to leave words of encouragement
and entertainment for their comrades. The attraction of U of C is not
the partying-proficiency of its students, but their dedication, focus,
and ability to have great fun discussing the subjects they love,
verbally or on library walls. In high school, class topics do not
travel outside the room, but, as far as I can tell, discussion and
education happen all the time at U of C.

I’d love to hear more graffiti stories from alumni– feel free to drop me a line at quinn – at – crescatgraffiti.com or post to the Facebook page.

Who studies there?

My husband did a stint as a student assistant in Eckhart Library, and as he recalls it, the patrons were generally of two varieties. There were the students whose expensive math textbooks were on reserve– these would check them out, work for a bit or take the book elsewhere, then return the book and leave. Then there were the serious math students who would sit and work for hours. The faculty also have 24/7 library access, and while my husband never experienced the situation, there’s a whole set of procedures for what to do if it’s time to close the library and a faculty member insists on staying.

What are the study spaces like?

The main floor has some tables and chairs– not very graffiti-friendly. However, two corners of the library have two isolated study cubicles each– for a total of eight, four on each floor.

Where is graffiti written?

Strangely enough, only one of the two study desks in each pair seemed to be heavily graffiti-covered. No particular pattern: sometimes it was the desk in the corner, sometimes it was the one closer to the center of the room. Some graffiti was scratched into the wood desk, but most of it was on the surrounding walls.

Graffiti content
Declarations of love

If you love algebraic topology, Eckhart is the place to write it. Apparently noncommutative algebra is sexy; so is Antoine. I’m not entirely clear if the object of love is human or math, but someone has also written in Chinese* “I love you / I have dreamed / [after the blue mark] Ha ha“. Also with an unclear object is this “official” declaration of love.

Math

I’m not at all a math person; interpretations of the math content by math people are more than welcome. I’m told this one might involve the Riemann zeta function. There’s a pretty generic-looking equation that might mean something profound to the right person. And “the math” involved in explaining what an English major is doing there involves dividing by zero. That might be funny to the right person.

Doodles

There’s a drawing of some sheep in a house, a drawing of a piano, the number 7, and some circles and squares (though at Eckhart, maybe that should be filed under “math” for its geometric content, rather than “doodles”). Someone also drew some kind of pirate “going phishing” (possibly Paul Sally, our local “math pirate”).

For the full set of photos from Eckhart, check out the photo set on Flickr.

* Thanks to Matthew Felix Sun for the Chinese translation!