Art students paint an uplifting mural over racist graffiti

The mural came from a suggestion by Rayna Schiering, a freshman in studio art, during a roundtable discussion in Deborah Dohne’s class on Tuesday afternoon.

“The second I heard about all this, I was like, ‘I’m getting involved.’ I want people to know I support them. I want people to know I’m here for them,” Schiering said.

Schiering, who believes the voices of art students often go unheard because of their location away from Main Campus, wanted to encourage her classmates to express themselves in a way that’s not hateful towards others.

“I think that we’re very sad but we want to bounce back quickly to show them we’re strong,” Schiering said.

Present to help paint the mural was studio art senior Jessica Oh, who discovered and reported the graffiti on her way to class on Tuesday morning. This incident and the subsequent discouraging interaction with DPS are just the most recent events in the history of racial discrimination she has experienced in the last four years at Syracuse University.

“I generally don’t think that anything changes in the Syracuse University community, if the students themselves don’t pursue that change,” Oh said.

Studio Arts Associate Professor Deborah Dohne said she was saddened that the graffiti compromised the safe, comfortable environment that promotes creativity in the Comstock Art Building. Originally, she felt helpless about the situation, discouraged that her students were and are facing these injustices.

But the mural has given power back to the students and faculty at the School of Art.

“I’m proud of them,” Dohne said. “I feel like this is what SU is really about. The majority of people here are proactive. They want to be part of the community, and they want to be good people. I think this (mural) is using art in a community situation and using it for something positive.”