Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Students help renovate Coliseum tunnel by Kelly Haggerty Reprinted from Till-. Gamkcock 03/24/00 After years of talk, Student Government final ly managed to paint over the decades- old design and years-old graffiti in the underground tunnel that con nects the School of Law to the Carolina Coliseum. Freshman Council and other SG members be gan the project last weekend, which Director of Spe cial Projects Timothy Clardy called a kind of “spir it tunnel.” When completed, the tunnel will have common university graphics on both walls, primar ily painted in garnet and black. One side of the tunnel will have “University of South Carolina” in script followed by the universi ty seal and palmetto tree graphic, as well as game cock graphics. The other side will display a timeline of the six to eight different mascot costumes used at the university throughout the years as well as the written word “Gamecocks.” Both walls will feature images of the Horseshoe gates. “1 made it my personal goal to put into effect what Student Government has always wanted to do,” Clardy said. “Ever since Eve been at this university, there’s been talk about renovating the tunnel, and it’s never been done.” Clardy said he and some SG members looked through university pamphlets and magazines to find the graphics to use in the tunnel. He likened the pro ject to coloring a coloring book, saying that SG sim ply had to paint between the lines after the graphics were projected onto the wall. Business freshman David Bomemann, one of the painters, said the trick was keeping a steady hand. “Normally on a Saturday and Sunday, 1 don’t do much until night, so it’s not so bad working down here,” Bomemann said. “It’s actually pretty en couraging seeing so many people out here instead of sleeping.” Electrical engineering freshman Kathleen Young said she continued to paint because she was pro crastinating on doing homework. However, she said loved painting the tunnel. “This looks great so far,” Young said. “I remember when I came for orientation and had to walk through the tunnel. I was like, ‘Oh man, these worms are gross.’” The womis Young referred to were a part of the previous design on one wall of the tunnel that fea tured six-foot-long waves in all colors. University architect Charles Jeffcoat said he couldn’t be sure, but he believed the art department painted the wall sometime in the 1960s or ‘70s. Since then, he said, graffiti artists have embellished the existing design as well as covering the entire other wall with their own designs. Jeffcoat said the graffiti might have made stu dents wary of walking through the tunnel. “It gives a sense that the environment is not safe,” he said. “It’s like every graffiti artist in town has left their mark in the tunnel. It’s desperately in need of repair and repainting.” Gerald Goings, assistant director for facilities management, said it had been seven to eight years since the tunnel had been repainted, the typical amount of time between paintings. USC is respon sible for painting over the graffiti and touching up the design. Goings said SG was the first student organiza tion to request painting the tunnel. He worked with the campus paint shop for three weeks propping the tunnel before SG began painting. The paint shop spent $3,000 scrapping and patching the tunnel and supplying the paint for SG. “I think it’s absolutely great,” Goings said. “If they get good publicity behind them, it may deter people from graffiting it.” “Anything that’s going to build student pride and beautify the campus, I think students will love,” Clardy said. Editor’s note: The tunnel renovation was com pleted in April. Photo By Amy Goulding The Gamecock Senator Chris Odom helps paint the USC insignia on the wall of the Coliseum tunnel. ^ 1 • Complimentary Full Breakfast • Complimentary Limousine Service to and from the Airport • Corporate and Group Rates • Columbia’s All Suite Hotel • Five Minutes from Downtown & USC Southern Hospitality At Its Best WOODROW AT DEVINE ST. • COLUMBIA, SC • 803-252-0845 • 1-800-637-4008 • www.whitneyhotel.com