the Informer

Though the tradition of painting the anchor on campus has happened for at least 40 years, the university is now expecting students to use more eco-friendly paint to make their designs.

Assistant professor of sociology Wick Griswold shared a little background on the anchor and the potential problems that can arise from how students are going about painting it.

According to Griswold, the anchor used to be a part of the U.S.S. Hartford flagship in the battle of Mobile Bay. “It’s an important piece of U.S. maritime history,” Griswold said.

The idea behind painting the anchor is for fraternities, sororities and other student organizations to show pride in their groups by customizing it. The issue is the way in which students are painting it.

Most of the time students use aerosol cans of spray paint, not realizing how damaging these items are to the environment. The reason they use them is because they are pretty cheap and easy to come by.

However, there is a problem: aerosol cans, including spray paint, contain fumes that are not only harmful to those using them, but to the environment as well. These fumes have the potential to get into our lakes and harm animals that feed in them. The university is asking students to use eco-friendly paint on the anchor.

“The students must think that it’s easier,” Griswold said “but in reality it’s more fun and more hands on and more of a real experience to just use a brush.”

Recently, freshman Reyna Boucaud along with the women’s rugby team painted the anchor. They used regular paintbrushes to paint the base of the anchor but did the rest freehand and with spray paint.

The reason, Boucaud says, was because “It was what we had at the time.” Boucaud expressed that she did not think it was easy for students to opt for eco-friendly paints, but it is definitely possible.

“It’s expensive,” she said “but we can make small changes.” In Griswold’s opinion, the problem is that students are not as aware as they should be of the consequences and of the alternatives available to them for keeping this tradition alive. Students go to the Office of Student Affairs to get permission for painting the anchor, but what happens there? “They don’t promote environmentally friendly methods of painting,” Griswold said, “The office needs to regulate it better.” He also suggested that the school find ways to promote environmentally friendly alternatives as well.

Beyond the actual health risks from painting with aerosol cans, Griswold also pointed out that the cans are usually disposed of incorrectly as well. “Often they litter the ground,” he said “and spray paint is even found on the sidewalk by the footbridge.” Griswold is hopeful that in the future students will become more conscious of how they can better the environment and do less adding to the environmental problem.

With a little more communication and education, students can continue to keep this tradition going while keeping the campus environment clean and eco-friendly.