We are all entitled to our own personal expression: it’s a safe and creative means of presenting feelings and ideas. And lately it’s been a major pain in my ass. I’m all for open expression. Even if it’s garish and ugly, it’s personal, and as long as it’s not physically harmful, I call it an interpretive free-for-all. But there have been some incidents at Guilford in the past few weeks that, while labeled by some as “personal expression,” were really just dumb acts of boredom and/or stupidity. And I thought that we could use those examples to establish a difference between legitimate expression and crap.

The Clothesline Project: Here, personally designed t-shirts were strewn along the walls of Founders’ underground depicting sentiments on rape, incest, domestic abuse, and other forms of assault. It was daunting, provocative, and maybe even offensive to some. It was fantastic. The project undoubtedly got people to think who make it a point never to think. More importantly, it got its point across without getting in the way of anyone’s everyday life. Survey says: legitimate expression.

Stacking Furniture in Founders Lobby. This occurred right around the debut of the Clothesline Project. For no apparent reason, tables and chairs in the main lobby of Founders were stacked in piles, accompanied by a note, identifying the display as “art.” I don’t think “art,” was the right word. Might I suggest “stupid?” How about “obnoxious?” Maybe “not at all creative?” Call it what you want, but the only good thing to come from it was the swiftness with which security showed to correct the situation. Survey says: crap.

Now, do we see the distinction here? Art can be “in your face,” without interfering with your day; it can have a point without annoying people. What if I wanted to sit in one of those chairs? Oh, but let me guess, my materialistic desire to sit was the issue being addressed. I can almost guarantee that no one waltzed through Founders lobby and said, “Furniture stacked on top of other furniture? Now that’s deep.” Let’s try some examples involving expression through sound.

The Talib Kweli show in Dana during Serendipity: This goes without saying, but music is art. People came from all over to catch the show and walked away satisfied. Anyone who didn’t have time to attend or who didn’t like hip-hop didn’t have to go. Survey says: legitimate expression.

DJ in the caf during Serendipity: It’s bad enough that students are forced to be on the meal plan, but combining that with music so loud that the already unsettling food bounces in your stomach and you’re unable to carry on a conversation with someone across the table is just poor judgment. Common freaking sense should have cautioned the organizers away from that one. Survey says: crap.

So, where’s the contrast on this one? I’ll give you a hint: Talib Kweli didn’t set up in anyone’s personal space and force people to listen to him perform. You see, just like with the furniture display, patrons of Guilford didn’t have a choice in the matter. They were nuisances. We weren’t asked if we’d enjoy them, and from what I saw (and bear in mind that I’m the one writing this) there were way more people pissed off by the dinner invasion than there were enjoying it.

Personal messages don’t necessarily have to be manifested artistically. Look at the Guilford Buzz, Guilfordian Letters-to-the-Editor and Stump Speeches. The uses for these venues vary from finding lost keys to making a valued opinion public. In fact, that’s why they exist. But apparently that’s not good enough for some messengers. Some people feel that their message is so important that it must be written in paint or ink on walls or buildings. What’s it called when people do that? Oh, right: VANDALISM.

But what about when your message is really, really special?

Yeah, it’s still vandalism.

Are we beginning to catch on now? Express yourself. I don’t care what your message is, go on and get it out there, make us see. But be a decent human being about it. Don’t damage property that isn’t yours, don’t make people physically ill, and don’t make the jobs of the people working at Guilford any harder than they have to be. If this is the best you can come up with, then think harder. Unless the message you want to send is that you’re a douchebag, in which case, don’t think at all. You’ll just hurt yourself.