Pennsylvania

The Fence is an iconic piece of Carnegie Mellon’s Pittsburgh campus. Serving as a student-centered space for free expression and community, The Fence has brought the CMU community together for more than 100 years. The Fence may only be painted by Carnegie Mellon University-affiliated students. The Fence may only be hand-painted with paint brushes. No other tools such as spray paint or rollers and no other actions like dumping or smearing paint are permitted. The Fence must be completely covered with paint; partial paintings are considered vandalism. The Fence must be painted between midnight to sunrise. Any painting outside that timeframe is considered vandalism, excluding any corrective work to undo vandalism.

The Fence, built in 1923, which lies in the middle of the Cut. The Fence frequently displays witty or poignant messages, but is just as often used to advertise upcoming events or recent accomplishments. Because of its highly visible location on campus, it is an ideal place to proclaim one's message to as much of the student body as possible. The original wooden fence was replaced in 1993 when it collapsed under its own weight due to six inches of surrounding paint. At the time, it held the Guinness World Record for being the most painted object.

Just hours before the Energy and Innovation Summit, Carnegie Mellon students converged on the cherished university landmark Monday night with white paint to proclaim “shame on you” and “no rapists on our campus.” On Tuesday morning, students woke up to a blank canvas. University administration had painted over the message with black paint.

Undeterred, roughly 15 students returned later that morning armed with white paint. They rewrote their messages. The grounds crew promptly came back with cans of white paint to restore the fence to a blank slate. No message. Just a quirky structure in the center of campus. Nothing to see here.

The exchange marked a notable moment in the fence’s history. A place once seen as a sacred space for free expression was being censored, students say. And in the aftermath, university officials left open the possibility of curtailing messaging on the iconic structure even more.

Tuesday was not the first time that university officials have painted over the fence. Administrators have reserved the right to conceal obscenities and have done so several times this past academic year. In February, after anti-Trump message with profanity was painted over, students repainted the fence, writing “don’t fencership my censorship,” according to CMU’s student newspaper.