By snoadmin
Correction: The former CLA Dean’s name was spelled as “Jerry Riposa.” His name is spelled Gerry Riposa.
The mural inside the McIntosh building will be painted over during winter break and the space used instead, to showcase student achievement – a choice that some in the College of Liberal Arts disapprove.
The colorful mural, located inside the building’s stairwell, features a person running into a mirror, under which is a crying child holding a sign that reads, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Former CLA Dean Gerry Riposa commissioned Libby Azevedo, along with several art students, to paint the mural in 2008. Azevedo, an administrative support coordinator for the anthropology department, has worked for Cal State Long Beach for 22 years.
Azevedo, the lead designer of the mural, said she is sad to see the mural’s message and the hard work of the former art students disappear. She said she appreciates that the dean personally delivered the news to her, but wishes he could use another wall on the building to display student achievement.
“I respect the dean wanting to put out his ideas, but it’s sad because there are other walls that could be painted,” Azevedo said.
David Wallace, dean of the CLA, said he plans to paint over the mural because he wants to use the space in an alternative way.
“I’m making this decision purely because I want to use the space in a different way,” Wallace said. “I think this is the most public space the college has.”
However, Ronald Lowe, an anthropology professor, said he thinks the CLA administration wants to cover any trace of Riposa because they thought he was “a rebel rouser and not a team player.”
“That Diego Rivera-style mural was a reflection of his radicalism,” Lowe said. “They didn’t like a dean that stood up to them and didn’t go along with everything the president wanted.”
Lowe also said there is other artwork on campus that should be painted over instead of the mural.
“If they were going to paint over something on campus, rather than paint over the mural, they should paint over Prospector Pete, which really refers to a horrific period in California history,” Lowe said.
Wallace said he plans to replace the mural with a combination of student photos and text. He said the photos of the mural will be taken before it is painted over and displayed somewhere to memorialize the mural in the college.
“I had mixed feelings about the mural,” Wallace said at a CLA Student Council meeting on Tuesday. “I got it, but I thought it was a complicated message.”
However, Lowe said that the effort put into the mural shouldn’t be washed over.
“I like the mural. I know that not everyone in the college likes it,” he said. “I think it’s nice that one of our co-workers puts her energy into it. If someone does something to beautify the campus, we should honor it.”
