Bathroom graffiti gets nice

What’s more interesting is the use of restroom infrastructure as a forum for religious and political conversation

I have a confession to make: Once, in the eighth grade, young and filled with angst, I wrote on a bathroom wall. I wrote something mean, about another girl. I cleverly used my mechanical pencil to scribble the cruel words in a penmanship unlike my own. I even dotted the “I” with a heart, because I was so clever and sneaky. It was absurd, but I still remember the adrenaline, the glee that came with doing something bad, and the joy of sweet, slanderous revenge. Pretty soon though, my giddiness was overtaken by guilt, and I haven’t ventured into the dark world of bathroom stall vandalism since.

It seems, however, that this practice is reemerging. There is a new, college-style wave of scribbling in the stall. I’m not sure what drives people to do this—do they consciously plan, walk into the bathroom with a sharpie out? Or is the act of peeing just too boring in its own right? Regardless, people in their twenties write on bathroom walls.

Thankfully, the messages are more positive than my eighth-grade one was. In fact, they’re inspirational. The bathroom declares, “You are beautiful,” which is kind of nice, but actually raises all sorts of indignations (“You don’t even know me!”).                                             

What’s more interesting is the use of restroom infrastructure as a forum for religious and political conversation. I’d love to meet someone who was converted by the “Accept Jesus” proclamation on a stall door. Bathrooms are even an avenue for the democratic process: We are instructed, somewhere in North Classroom, to check the “yes” on a column that debates if we think women deserve rights (apparently this is something we women are still debating about).

I can’t decide how I feel about all of this. Clearly, it’s a bit ridiculous, and I’m pretty sure it’s a symptom of our Facebook-Twitter-Tumblr world, in which we feel entitled to (literally) write our two-sentence commentary on every wall. In another way, though, it’s kind of neat. This is an intriguing interaction between the anonymous and the personal, and an almost admirable attempt at human connection.

But I think we need to step it up. If you’re going to write on the walls, write a poem. Make art. Tell a joke. Philosophize. If this is going to be a forum for expression, express something awesome, and please, please don’t let it be anything like Facebook.