The Lincoln Log

Graffiti can be found everywhere, including the south stairwell at Lincoln High

Everyone sees it: on the stairs, walls, lockers, and especially in the bathrooms. Sometimes it can even be found in places where it seems impossible to reach, like the roof. Graffiti comes in various forms depending on the artist. Some artists have personalized tags, such as their names while a specific logo like a stick figure, or some just draw whatever comes to mind. Is graffiti a form of art, or a defacement of property? Although some may see graffiti as an art, others believe it makes Abraham Lincoln High look bad.

If the school cleaned off all the graffiti at Lincoln, the cost would be the equivalent of hiring a teacher. It takes $30,000 to paint over the graffiti scattered around the school. Just as fast as they are removed, they almost instantly reappear, either in the same form or a different drawing.

“We spend hours and hours and hours to covering up what basically is really juvenile self-destructive behavior,” ALHS dean Joel Balzer said.

The consequences of defacing school property include having the police involved. The police have a system called Graffiti Abatement. There are two officers in charge of the system. It is also known as Hark, a community assessment referral center for those who are caught praying graffiti to receive counseling. At this center, there are also court appearances. Depending on past citations, they have to clean up graffiti and perform other community services.

Many students at Lincoln also feel that graffiti is a disturbing problem. They go up and down the stairs and see graffiti; sometimes the tags are offensive.

Students can help to minimize graffiti in our school by reporting students who tag lockers, walls, or bathroom stalls to Officer Louvrin, the deans, or administrators.

“Graffiti is ugly; it’s a waste of money to clean up and it makes us look bad in the eyes of other people,” senior Chris Wan said.