Retelling the history of Knowlton’s artwork removal.

It's time we take account of Knowlton's most contentious topic: artwork and stairwells.

Nov 04, 2024

Before we begin…

A story stitched together by our group of editors, One:Twelve’s goal is to provide a retelling of Knowlton artwork removal history that is as objective, accurate, and holistic as possible, with the intention of clarifying the chain of events. Read the end of the piece for ways to voice your thoughts.

For years, students have put up writing and artwork in Knowlton's stairwells.

Some were innocent:

Image Source: One:Twelve, Artwork Source: Unknown

Some were more playful:

But on Monday, November 14th, 2022, racist and antisemitic graffiti was found inside Hitchcock Hall, just east of Knowlton. “According to a police report, a red ~~Swastika~~, the words ‘~~Heil Hitler~~’ ― with a crossed through Star of David below it ― and ‘~~White Power Zone~~’ had been spray painted on basement walls. The words ‘~~Whites Only~~’… in addition to a racial slur on the stairwell's third floor landing”1. The next day, university president Kristina M. Johnson sent out a statement condemning the vandalism: “There is no room for hate in our home”2.

October, November, & December 2023

Less than a year later, on October 7th, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched an attack into Israel. Messages in Knowlton appeared in the following days:

Image Source: Maya Hamed, Artwork Source: Unknown

On Tuesday, October 10th, 2023, then Knowlton Director Dorothée Imbert sent a statement that “antisemitic” graffiti was found in a Knowlton stairwell the week prior, and that the graffiti had been removed, furthering that “no one in our community should be made to feel unsafe, and all must be treated with respect”3.

Following that Tuesday, although 1:12 has no details on how long after, orange spray paint was found covering up the messages, and shortly after, messages reappeared on the walls over the orange patches.

On Friday, December 1st, Imbert provided a Knowlton-specific statement on the graffiti. Out of “alignment with university rules while respecting the integrity of the building and the safety and well-being of all staff and the Knowlton community,” all graffiti will be removed in the enclosed stairwells over winter break, adding that the “university will also install cameras in the stairwells to support enhanced safety.”4

Additionally, after meeting with members of the Knowlton Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access Committee, where students described the stairwells as an “outlet of expression,” she said that it prompted the administration to find alternative outlets.

On December 3rd, City & Regional Planning PHD Student Zach Korosh wrote a statement asking for student organizations’ support in expressing student opinion. In the statement draft, Korosh makes clear points:

Let us be clear- hate speech has no place within Knowlton Hall. However, critiques of the state of Israel and Zionism do not equate to antisemitism. Such conflations only help hatred spread and cause harm to those they claim to protect.

We ask that:
The stairwells remain untouched until the plan for alternatives is made clear and students have time to offer input
No cameras be installed in the stairwells
The school make an official statement denouncing the Palestinian genocide and the accompanying rise of antisemitism and support those who speak out for liberation.

In order to promote the petition, “We decided it would be best to use the list servs for each section,” Korosh stated. “We were intercepted, so it only circulated the CRP masters list.

“I followed up with Dean Howard and was asked to meet with another Dean from the college of engineering about the manner,” Korosh continues, “They basically tried to paint it as a coincidence, saying they had planned for some time to cover the graffiti and the cameras were because some students felt ‘unsafe.’”

“They basically tried to paint it as a coincidence.”

On Friday, December 15th, Imbert provided the last update of 2023:5

Facilities Operations and Development (FOD) will remove all graffiti in the enclosed stairwells.
FOD in concert with Public Safety will install security cameras in the stairwells.
These projects are scheduled to take place during the week of December 18–22.

January 2024

Winter break was quiet. But in late January of 2024, Knowlton hosted two events to follow-up the Knowlton stairwell modifications: Donuts with the Director (DwD) and World Café: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access at Knowlton.

In one of the DwD meetings, on January 22nd, undergraduate landscape student Maya Hamed stated that the security cameras were installed “by OSU administration, with Knowlton having no input in the decision.”

“Dorothee also noted that phrases like ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ were considered antisemitic, as people had complained about them”, Hamed continues, “The entire situation was frustrating, especially given that 90% of the graffiti consisted of pro-Palestinian messages.”

“Sitting there in my keffiyeh, along with a few others, listening to the director say that one of the main reasons for installing the cameras was due to antisemitic statements, even though the majority of the statements written were pro-Palestinian.”

The graffiti conversation ended “by coming up with ways of expressing our creativity without the use of graffiti. She had even mentioned that hanging up flags on desks is allowed.”

At the World Café hosted by the DOI committee on January 29th, in response to a question of how Knowlton’s community is represented in the school, a respondent wrote “not in the stairways. Others expressed a desire to encourage a greater freedom of expression through spaces (both literal and figurative).”6

Although no artwork materialized directly on Knowlton’s surfaces, messaging still appeared throughout January:

Then in the Spring of 2024, Knowlton Society was formed. Co-president Kaleb Duarte says, “Knowlton Society arose as a way for us to not only reclaim that voice but advance the culture through serious action rather than aimless and disorganized dialogue.”

October 2024

Most recently, a week of events brought the conversation back to the fore. On Wednesday, October 23rd, Knowlton hosted the Baumer Lecture of Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam, original architects of Knowlton Hall. Core One:Twelve editor and undergraduate architecture student Lucas Blair asked, “The stairwells seem like a blank canvas for artwork, what were your original intentions for them?”

Mack Scogin replied: “To put things on them.” Applause followed.

1×

0:00

-0:11

Another student, asked, “We hear a lot about how Knowlton is designed to be a pedagogical tool for it's students, yet we see that tool being used to restrict and surveil students. How do we as students respond to this utilization of Knowlton?”

The response included “play the game, push back, keep putting stuff on the walls,” by Scogin, and Elam later responded with “People have been writing on walls forever, since the age of Mesopotamia and even well before,” implying the natural urge to write on our walls.

“To put things on them.”

The following day, the student that asked the second question, Abdul-Azeez Ahmad, laid out a poster in one of the studio spaces inviting messages and artwork of any kind. Ahmad put the poster up in the stairwell where graffiti was once shown.

At the time of posting this article, the poster is still in the East Stairwell between the 1st and 2nd stairwells.7

A few days later, Knowlton Society posted a video on Instagram, as well as many other posters around Knowlton encouraging students to mark the walls and stating “Claim every surface,” as well as “#KeepKnowltonWeird.”

Source: Knowlton Society

November 2024 and On

What’s next for Knowlton’s stairwells?

One:Twelve has no singular answer, but we’re asking for you to share your thoughts, express your opinions, or even propose solutions by leaving a comment under this piece, DMing @onetwelveksa on Instagram or by emailing onetwelveksa@gmail.com so that your voice may be heard.

In a future piece, One:Twelve would like to continue the conversation and include your opinion alongside other students, faculty, alumni, and anyone that would like to share.