Graffiti
murals garner mixed feelings from people in every community. Some view it as
an artistic expression, while others see it as a form of vandalism that
destroys property and lowers a city’s economic value.
In
contrast, people who do graffiti are similar to the people who see their work,
in that they too have a number of reasons why they decide to cover walls with
banner-like designs and murals.
Like most
middle class cities in the United States, there are plenty of graffiti and
vandalism that can be seen all around Chico.
One in
particular that has caught the attention of Chico’s community are the “rape
graffiti” that has been popping up all over the city's downtown
area, and the Chico State campus.
I first
heard about this from a student in one of my classes. He brought it up after I
read my article to him about the sexual harassment audit that is currently
happening in Chico State.
According
to my classmate a number of these graffiti signs has been appearing all over
Chico State and its surrounding area, but he had no idea who exactly was doing
it.
I thought
it was something that could help me in writing my article so I decided to check
it out...
The first
place I went to was the GSEC office since I figured they could give me plenty
of information about it, and tell me where exactly I can find one of these
“rape graffiti.”
After
talking to some of the GSEC members, they told me that they to had no idea who
was responsible for it.
I
originally thought that it was some sort of sexual harassment activism aimed
towards students of Chico State that a school organization was doing, but it turned out that I was
wrong.
According
to Sarena Kirk, GSEC’s LGBTQ Program Coordinator, it is some sort of “guerilla activism,” that someone in the community is doing.
It is safe to assume that whoever is
responsible for this “guerilla activism,” is familiar with Chico’s
sexual crimes problem, as the sign can be seen in all of the places where a
rape, or an assault has occurred.
I asked
Kirk where I could find one of these signs, and one of the places she told me
to look was the bike path along Chico State.
(The Bike Path along the Chico State campus)
The “Bike
Trail” as most Chico State students calls it, is a path that students take to go
in and out of campus. It runs parallel to the train tracks that operate through
downtown Chico.
Kirk said
that due to the high rate of sexual assault that occurs on the trail, it is not
a surprise that a number of these graffiti has been found there.
She said
that some students have even gone as far as calling the path the “rape trail,”
due to the amount of assaults that have happened around that area.
(Bike Trail/"Rape Trail" on Chico State)
Unfortunately,
I was unable to see one on the bike path when I went there, because according
to Kirk, they are often gone as quickly as they appear.
However,
while walking around downtown and talking to student who lives there asking if
they have ever seen this particular graffiti, I came across one by Third Street
and Cherry.
(Photo of the Graffiti that is popping up all over Chico)
After
seeing one for myself in just an hour of searching, it has led me to the
conclusion that maybe sexual assault is a serious problem in Chico, and that
may have been one of the reasons why the university is being audited.
While
talking to Kirk and Joe Wills, both of them brought up the fact that Chico
State is a college institution that has close ties to its community. This got
me thinking that maybe Chico State is not the one with the sexual crimes
problem, but the city itself, and the school is affected due to its location in
the downtown area where most of the assaults happen.
Of course,
the issue of how many sex crimes that involves students is not the only factor that
plays into the audit. It is also about how well the school’s officials deal
with the problem when they do occur.
But again, these
questions can only be answered when the audits results come out, but the “rape
graffiti” that can be seen all around the city does verify the fact that sexual
assaults are indeed a problem in Chico.
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