People with Hangups

This morning, the faculty in my hallway found our normally bland corridor splashed with the color of 46 sheets of red paper hanging from the ceiling. At present, I wish to neither confirm nor deny personal involvement in this incident. That being said, though, I will offer a few observations based on my interactions with my colleagues today.

First, I was stunned at how quickly and confidently the finger was pointed at yours truly. What gives? Where are the pictures of me hanging these up? Where is the personal testimony of someone who had caught me red handed? In spite of evidential dearth, nearly every conversation I had today began with "You did this, didn't you?" Others didn't need to ask. They just gave me "the look."

Second, I was intrigued by how many speculative conversations I heard in the hallway throughout the day. "It couldn't have happened on Saturday because I was here then and they weren't up." "Could have been Raul. I saw his car in the parking lot on Sunday." "I thought it was maintenance marking where work needs to be done." "It might be for the upcoming Renaissance Festival." "This obviously took a long time to do." And on and on it went--all over 46 sheets of paper (not that I've counted or anything).

Third, I have to admire the safety consciousness of the artist. If you look closely--and you can click on the picture above for a better view--you can see that the papers in no way obstruct any view of the EXIT sign near the door to the left. Remember Mr. Van Gogh: Safety first, artistic expression second.

Finally, I heard chatter about "our red paper being wasted." (Okay, so it was really "discourse" and not "chatter" given that it took place in the Humanities hallway.) Regardless, my guess on the matter is that someone conscientious enough to avoid blocking the EXIT sign would also collect and reallocate those papers for instructional purposes. Just a guess--not that I know anything about the particulars of this incident.

In the end, it illustrates that few things in the workplace draw as much attention as a person with hangups.