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Introduction
The North
and South Houses enjoy valued traditions of self-expression through the
creation of murals. Caltech seeks to promote students’ creativity while
also protecting members of the Caltech community from offensive material
and maintaining an attractive environment within the Houses. To this
end, Caltech Housing, in consultation with the Student Housing
Committee, is establishing this Mural Policy to clarify the guidelines
for creating murals and to inform students about the procedures for
dealing with offensive or otherwise unacceptable murals
Individual
Houses are expected to have their own processes to be followed if a
resident wishes to paint a mural or to request the removal of a mural;
however, these processes do not supersede these guidelines or other
Caltech policies and procedures.
Mural Policy
It is the Institute’s
policy that murals or anything that goes on the walls or ceilings in the
shared spaces of Caltech’s resident Houses do not have offensive
material, which includes images or language that the majority of
reasonable persons would find offensive, that would reasonably interfere
with other residents’ enjoyment of the facility, and/or that violates
Caltech’s Non Discrimination or Unlawful Harassment policies or other
Caltech policies. Examples of offensive material include images or
language that are racist or sexist, or that are derogatory on the basis
of national origin, disability, age, religion, or sexual orientation.
Graffiti or anything else that makes the Houses look deteriorated or
degraded is also not acceptable.
Putting Up a Mural
Students must
notify the Housing Office in advance (housing@caltech.edu)
of the intention to put up a mural and of its location. Students are
encouraged, but not required, to consult with the Assistant Vice
President for Student Affairs, Campus Life (henceforth AVP), Tom
Mannion, to discuss the design of the mural before putting it up. This
is to ensure that students don’t devote lots of time to projects that
will not be allowed to remain and to prevent an individual, individuals,
or an entire House from bearing the cost of a mural’s removal. Neither
the Housing Office nor Campus Life will bear this cost if the mural was
put up without consultation or differs from the submitted design in ways
that make it inappropriate in Institute housing
Houses shall
give special consideration to the design of murals that go into dining
halls, lounges, and their entryways because other members of the Caltech
community and outside visitors are most likely to frequent them. Houses
will consult with the AVP before putting a mural up in these areas
Students may
paint murals in individual rooms; at the beginning of each academic
year, after rooms have been assigned, students moving into a room with a
mural must notify the Housing Office of their desire to keep it.
Housing will work with the Houses to remove murals that current
residents do not want. Houses will also work with the Housing Office to
find rooms without murals for summer guests who are not Caltech
students
The Housing
Office will make paint available to students who wish to put up a
mural. We ask students not to use spray paint because it can damage the
walls
Reporting Complaints to
Housing
Complaints
about a mural from someone who is not a member of that House, or from a
House member not satisfied by the remedy offered by his or her House's
policy, should be made to the AVP, the Master of Student Houses (MOSH),
the Chair of the Student Housing Committee, the Chair of the Interhouse
Committee (IHC), or the President of the House in question. When any of
the above receives a complaint, he or she will notify all the others by
email.
For complaints
requiring immediate attention (offensive material)
If the AVP,
after consulting with General Counsel, determines that a mural or part
of a mural is offensive, the Institute has the obligation to remove or
cover it as soon as possible. Except in exceptional circumstances, the
AVP will contact the House President, RA, and IHC Chair in advance of
taking action. At the discretion of the AVP and the Senior Director of
Institute Housing (henceforth SDIH), Tim Chang, the House may be given
the opportunity to remedy the problem immediately on its own under the
supervision of the SDIH or his personnel.
For complaints which
the AVP determines do not require immediate attention
The House will
be given 48 hours from the time it is contacted by the AVP to remedy any
problems, but if the House disagrees with the request, the President of
the House in question and the AVP will meet to discuss the problem, and
they will attempt to reach an agreement on appropriate action to be
taken. If they are unable to reach an agreement, a quorum of the IHC
will meet and vote on whether or not to approve the proposed action of
the AVP, and if it is approved, such action will be taken. If there is
still no agreement between the IHC and the AVP, the question will be
decided by the SDIH, the MOSH, the chair of the Student Housing
Committee, and the student chair of the Stewardship Committee. No work
will be done to remove the mural until a decision has been reached
according to this process. This process also applies for students who
wish to pursue a mural whose initial design was not approved by the AVP.
Remedying the Problem
In all
cases where a mural or part(s) of a mural must be removed, the problem
will be considered remedied when the wall and all other surfaces have
been restored to their prior condition, whether the work is done by
students or by the Housing Office.
Following action taken
to remedy a problem:
The
Chairman of the Stewardship Committee will be notified of the problem
and the steps taken to fix it, and the committee will discuss the issue
at their next meeting. If appropriate, the Committee will determine
whether an individual, individuals, or the House in question will be
financially responsible for action taken to remedy the problem
If there is a
possible honor code violation, the issue may result in cases being
brought before the Routing Committee. In addition, violations of other
Institute policies such as Unlawful Harassment or Non Discrimination
will be addressed as provided in those policies. |
