Ideas on display

Lately in Frist, I've been hearing a number of comments about the computer display wall outside of Café Vivian. I've heard complaints that the wall is obscure or offensive, that people don't understand why it's there and what the artists who display on it are trying to say.

During the Enlightenment, the French philosophe Voltaire wrote, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." One of the screens showed with some frequency is a call for submissions to the display wall that are "interesting, thought-provoking, challenging, revolutionary." I think that Voltaire was interested in these kinds of ideas when he propounded his version of freedom of speech.

One of the reasons for being at a university is to challenge yourself with these "revolutionary" ideas, to broaden the way you think of the world, to consider perspectives that never occurred to you. I think that the display wall can be a means for communicating these sorts of ideas and for inciting new ways of thinking. But I think it is an ill-understood part of the campus center.

I admit that I don't understand what kinds of submissions the people who work on the wall are requesting. I think that the idea that anyone can submit is important. Yet, the very medium of computer graphics is a somewhat exclusive field. Since I am not familiar with computer graphics or the medium of a display wall, I'm not sure that I would actually be able to submit something appropriate for the wall. I think it could be beneficial if the submission committee would just request topics for the displays and then work with the student whose idea it is on creating an appropriate and effective display. (Perhaps this is already the case. If so, it could be expressed more publicly and clearly.)

I do not mean to criticize the display wall by any means. I think it is a great idea that could foster a larger sense of community. I am criticizing the lack of understanding of the wall that many students seem to have. But I am not trying to place blame on anyone for the lack of understanding about the wall. By the very fact that the display is in the middle of a common space, however, it is a public forum for ideas. And, I think, as a public forum, it is important that the public feels like it can have a say and an influence on what is displayed. People criticize things they don't understand. I feel that we need a greater comprehension of the purpose of the wall, the method of creating and submitting ideas for displays and an overall greater sense of possibility for involvement in what is on display. The display wall could then have a much greater positive impact and influence on the campus. It could more fully realize the community-building and intellectually stimulating possibilities of such a public medium.

Perhaps if students understood the wall better, they would say to each other, "Let's go look and see what's on the wall today," rather than, "What is this display-wall thing for anyway?" And rather than being offended by anything on it, students would be able to respond in kind with another display, a sort of 21st century letter to the editor. Ultimately, I think, students could completely understand why Voltaire's statement is so important. John Lurz is an English major from Lutherville, MD. He can be reached at johnlurz@princeton.edu.