Photojournalism: TIRED. Collective Walkout

Skeet Starr

Sports Editor

TIRED. Collective demonstrators began congregating at the Chicken Fountain around 2:30 p.m. on April 21st, the last Bearcat Day of the year. Proponents of the anonymous TIRED. Co. 's recently posted list of demands, the activists talked quietly amongst themselves and drew slogans in sidewalk chalk on and near the fountain.

Around 3:10pm the group, which numbered in the high tens or low hundreds, migrated to the quad, possibly to gain more visibility from admitted students. One chalk slogan between the fountain and the quad read, “Stop avoiding us.” The atmosphere remained quiet. Some activists, however, called out to nearby tour groups and others attempted to block Admission Ambassadors from continuing on their routes.

At 3:17pm demonstration organizers—de facto or otherwise—asked for a smaller group to head toward the Mill Stream. From then on the demonstrators remained split. The Mill Stream group lined up directly adjacent to the Bearcat Days tent, a hub frequented by administrators such as Lisa Landreman, Don Thompson, Emilio Solano, Steve Thorsett and Sue Corner.

At 3:30pm groundskeeping workers arrived with a pressure washer to remove the chalk slogans from the sidewalks, fountain and plaza. When questioned, the workers said they had been sent by the administration. One mentioned, “We don’t care either way. It’s just chalk,” and that, “It would have washed off with the rain tonight.”

Throughout the latter half of the demonstration, Hayden Dentinger, the assistant director of admission visits, could be seen monitoring the demonstrators, discussing related issues with prospective students’ families and distributing a piece of literature titled “Summary of WU’s Current Work related to the Tired Collective Petition of Demands” in person and at the Bearcat booth.

The demonstration reportedly finished around 4 o’clock.