In the endless stretches of off-white, taupe and beige coating the LHS halls, you might be surprised to occasionally catch a glimpse of mottled brick or maybe even a short stretch of orange tile in the floor. The classrooms, all seemingly dip-dyed with the same almost-white color, offer relief only through a glance out the window.
In the sea of beige that LHS often feels like to the Drops of Ink staff, we feel that students’ attitudes could be drastically improved by having more art in hallways, classrooms and throughout the school; plus, showcasing student art, while livening up the halls, would also serve to display the talent that those student artists have.
As students, it would help us to stay attentive and positive at school if the environment we were in was not so bland. After all, as weather warms, it is difficult to stay excited about LHS’ white rooms and halls after coming in from an increasingly green outside. In order to improve this, we believe that presenting more student art throughout the school, color in the halls, and murals would help to make LHS a more creative environment for students and visitors.
With less murals than you can count on your hand and student art being confined to low-traffic areas like the gallery near the auditorium and the dungeon, a good start on improving the school atmosphere could definitely be a coat of paint. Considering that lockers take up half of the halls’ visual space, painting them a brighter color, extending murals onto them or even allowing students to paint our own would be a massive step in making the school a more uplifting environment.
With some teachers decorating their rooms with American history projects, stuffed moles or even “Star Wars” figurines, the DOI staff also believes that teachers should be encouraged to make their space their own. While things to look at could be considered a visual distraction by some, we believe that being in more visually interesting spaces actually makes us more interested. Whether taking the form of informational posters or former student projects, we find that classrooms which are more personalized feel more comfortable as students.
Lastly, access to student art is minimal at LHS: while you can peer through the glass at the art gallery, it isn’t publicized when it is actually open, and the pieces in the dungeon are too out of the way for most students to see. We think that student art could be displayed throughout the school, in cases and on the TV screens cycling near the front entrance and in the cafeteria.
With potential projects in updating or creating new murals, student art could easily offer a way to brighten our halls, and with athletes’ trophies on display across the school, it is only fair that students’ art, a direct display of their talent, should be showcased in a way which is accessible to everyone as well.
So why not add some color? With plenty of ways to make the school feel more inviting, it would take only one or two to make a significant difference in how students, faculty and visitors feel when they come to LHS.
