Queers chalk up protest

The protest graffiti on Locust Walk yesterday might have been the subject of lunchtime conversation for weeks to come. That is, of course, if anyone had seen it. QUIP -- Queers Invading Penn -- covered the Walk with chalk slogans yesterday morning protesting homophobia at the University. But few people actually saw the grafitti because University Physical Plant workers had washed the Walk clean by 9:15 a.m. QUIP members, who began "decorating" the Walk around 7:30 a.m., were approached about an hour later by workers who asked "when [they] planned to clean [it] up." One QUIP member, who identified himself as "Boy Prince Albert," said that the chalk would be washed away by the first rain. But Physical Plant workers would not wait. "I'm really mad that our [slogans] won't be read," the QUIP member said. "We just wanted to have visibility." Ken Neborak, the plant supervisor of hard surfaces, said the workers were just doing their job. "Our job is to clean the campus," Neborak said. "It's our campus too. It bothers us when any group does something to deface it." Neborak said that no administrator ordered the work to be done, adding that he became aware of the graffiti after another worker saw QUIP members at work around 7:40 a.m. The QUIP slogans -- some of which said "Queers Bash Back" and "The Few, the Proud, the Queer" -- covered the Walk from the Palladium to the end of Van Pelt Library. Another QUIP member, who called himself "an early morning, fashionably-dressed terrorist," said he came up with the idea as a means of getting the University's attention. "It's about time we take back our Walk," he said. "We can't wait for this racist, sexist, homophobic institution to acknowledge us. Diversify the Walk means more than just office space." QUIP member "Boy Prince Albert" said that some Plant workers thought the slogans were "interesting," while others, he said, harassed him and called him a "faggot." Neborak said he did not witness or participate in any such harassment of the students. "I don't care what their sexual orientation is," he said. "I don't care what group they are. In our eyes [the graffiti] was profane, whether or not it [contained] any profanities." Neborak added he did not think any charges would be brought against QUIP members, but said the University would seek reimbursement for the additional working hours required to clean the Walk. QUIP member "Boy Prince Albert" said that while he was disappointed about the efficiency of the Plant workers, QUIP has future plans. "We will be at Spring Fling," he said. "That's a threat and a promise."

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