As students arrived at Roosevelt on Rider Day to receive their schedules, have their photos taken, and exchange animated greetings with the acquaintances they hadn’t seen since June, it seemed that no one noticed, or took the time to stop and recognize, the new mural-like artwork installations scattered across multiple school hallways
In Seattle, murals are a big part of the city. This is evident along the light rail from SODO station to Beacon Hill, as one car passes through the secret corridor only accessible by the train. Murals are stretched over the warehouse walls, details and colors amplified by the sun’s light. Even Franklin High School rarely has a hall undecorated with paint. Ryan Henry Ward, “Seattle’s most prolific muralist,” according to King5 News, decorated the city with nearly 200 murals. Fans of his work describe them as bright and joyful, so how does this relate to the new Roosevelt installments?
These murals, stickers, or paintings are part of the many minor changes to the Roosevelt building. The decision to display them was from a committee consisting of Principal Kristina Rodgers, Asst. Principal Jessica Proctor, and Jordan Wilson. Mr. Wilson, a biology teacher and freshman interventionalist, says that the murals were inspired by a visit with Ingraham High School’s vice principal. “Last year, I took on doing supportive spaces for students. So, I went to Ingraham and the first thing I noticed was signage and welcome in all the different languages. We don’t really have anything [at Roosevelt] that was welcoming.”
Regarding the effectiveness of the images, Mr. Wilson says “Because it’s new, I think it’s inciting conversation about ‘why do we have this, why would this be important,’ which I think is important. Is this really an inclusive place for everyone? My hope is that over time that idea that everyone belongs here and everyone can be successful and this is a safe space for everybody- that idea eventually just becomes so ingrained in us that those signages and everything become a part of what we think.”
There is still more that can be implemented, according to Mr. Wilson.He says that “Students not always feeling like they’re being heard -that’s probably the big [problem] that I hear, but also that sometimes the way that we look at groups of students is almost as if it’s important for, ‘oh it’s February this is the time we can talk about African American history.’ Well, great but also, we’re here all the time. [The murals] are supposed to be…a reminder that we’re all here, we are all welcome. And it’s not just one week in March or February that we acknowledge that.” One could interpret this as that students have to take action in own daily lives to support the community at Roosevelt
Ashleigh Templeton, one of the diversity coordinators and student at Roosevelt High School, says that “educating the students is or was the reason why they put them up, and also to make the students of color feel more welcomed, represented.”
In terms of how effective the murals are, she says, “you always have to take a first step, and this is a really good thing to have, but you can’t just say that we have this at our school and thus we have inclusion and racism is solved.” While she claims to have an overall positive impression of them,Templeton says “my only thing is like how it’s kind of like putting a blanket on issues. Some students don’t try to actively make a difference in how they’re acting because that’s here.” Templeton is concerned that a misconception of “‘there’s no racism in Roosevelt because [the murals] are here,’” might become popularized around the school.
Ella Ruddick, a junior and Vice President of the GSA at Roosevelt, recounts seeing the murals on the first day, thinking they were interesting. According to Ruddick, to her, “It’s very clear to me at least that the purpose of them is to promote inclusion between different marginalized communities”.
Ruddick doesn’t believe that this is the most effective solution for promoting inclusion, however. Though not believing she knows what is the most effective method of combating or addressing discrimination, which she believes “is deep-seated in the Roosevelt community.” She also doesn’t “think there’s one simple solution and will require action on a broader scale.”
According to “Do Murals Really make a Difference?” by Julia M. Meluso, after an experiment involving presenting people environments with murals in them, only one participant specifically noted the murals and their positive feelings towards them. Observations from the rest of the participants, which seemed to have a disinterest from the murals, proved to Meluso that “fewer students were able to notice the murals in these locations because the overall appearance was un-kept in their eyes.” In other words, things like the surroundings of a mural can easily overcome the mural itself. In their conclusion, Meluso concludes how murals might come as only secondary importance and might only make an impactful impression of certain individuals.
Despite this, Ruddick says that she approves of the administration’s effort to promote this environment. Much like Wilson’s predictions, Ruddick says that “When the murals were noticed, they sparked conversation in the communities they were supposed to support.”
Ruddick claims that murals were not the main priority, but believes it’s something she is interested in bringing up again at GSA. Similarly, Templeton says the signages could be a source of inspiration: “Currently, Gladys (the other diversity coordinator) and I are working on brainstorming ideas, and if that’s something that’s already here at this school, that’s something we can build off of it.” ASR is encouraging more artwork from students at Roosevelt. To start the process, one may obtain a mural submission packet at the front bulletin board.
Photo by Julianne Fleming
