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You are here: Home / News / McDonald Hall residents chalk up encouragement

McDonald Hall residents chalk up encouragement

October 3, 2013 by James Eldred

McDonald Hall’s bonding activity turned into a campus-wide conversation last week when the residents of the dorm’s second floor anonymously chalked the sidewalks with encouraging messages on the evening of Sept. 22.

Resident assistant Julia Curtis, sophomore English major from Mexico City, Mexico, and about 20 of her residents set out around 9:30 p.m. to constructively graffiti the walkways.

“I remember seeing encouraging messages last year,” Curtis said. “They really encouraged me for that week, so I thought we should give that back.”

Laura Harris, freshman undeclared major from Little Rock, Ark., enjoyed the activity.

“We dressed up in all black and took some ninja pictures,” she said. “We looked ridiculous.”

Humor played an important part in the messages, Curtis said. About half were meant to be comical.

Student reactions to the quotes were largely positive – posts on Twitter and Instagram applauded the messages, and some students went out of their way to avoid stepping on the encouragements.

While the messages originally spanned over most of the walkways, the sprinkler system posed an obstacle for certain areas. The sidewalks in front of McKinzie Hall were decorated, but the statements were washed away early in the morning because of the watering cycle.

Curtis said she was pleased with later erasures, however.

“The rain washed it away perfectly on Saturday,” she said. “It was there for a week, and then it was gone.”

Curtis thought the experience was more beneficial to the her hall than to the recipients.

“The point was to be anonymous because we didn’t want to be recognized for it,” she said. “I think we grew closer as a hall by serving other people.”

Harris said she also thought the activity was a good bonding experience.

“I think when you’re encouraging someone, you give the encouragement you want to get,” Harris said. “It’s really neat to see what the other girls wrote, just to see what was on their hearts. It’s really special to be able to express what’s on your heart, too.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Campus Life, McDonald Hall

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You are here: Home / News / McDonald Hall residents chalk up encouragement

Other News:

  • Spring Break unaffected by snowstorm cancellations

  • Freshman and sophomore retention numbers comparable to 2020

  • Students forced into unique living situations due to winter storm

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Despite challenges created by COVID-19, freshman and sophomore retention numbers are holding with a minor decrease from fall to spring. Read more below: ...

Freshman and sophomore retention numbers comparable to 2020 - Optimist

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Freshman and sophomore retention numbers are holding with a minor decrease from fall to spring according to an email from Dr. Schubert. Despite challenges presented by COVID-19, retention rates are holding slightly above 90%. “Freshman retention is holding at 90.5% from fall to spring (compared to...
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Cullen Auditorium is scheduled to undergo renovation with the university hoping to break ground on the project this summer. Read more below: ...

Cullen scheduled for $8 million renovation - Optimist

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Cullen Auditorium is scheduled to undergo an $8 million renovation with the university hoping to break ground on the project this summer. The project is set to renovate the inside of Cullen while creating a new lobby space. The hope for the renovation is similar to construction of Wildcat Stadium: k...
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