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5/9/24 UW Quad |
The day before USk Seattle’s outing to the University of
Washington Biology Greenhouse, student protests of the university’s involvement
with support to Israel started heating up. News reports said the pro-Palestinian
protest encampment was still relatively peaceful, though, so I wasn’t
concerned. I was, however, a naughty USk admin: After leading the group into
the greenhouse, I went out to the Quad, where the encampment had been set up. I
saw a good opportunity for sketch reportage!
OK, that’s what I told myself, but if truth be known, I just wanted
to sketch in the sun. Two winters ago, USk met at the greenhouse when it
was chilly out, so the greenhouse’s warmth was welcome. On Thursday,
though, the hot, humid greenhouse was less appealing; I preferred 70-degree
sunshine!
Even if my primary motivation wasn’t journalistic, I did find it
an interesting challenge to tell the story of the encampment on a comics-like
page (above). How different the Quad looked, covered end-to-end with tents, compared to
the last time USk Seattle met there to sketch the fairyland of cherry blossoms.
After finishing that montage, I found myself suddenly hungry, so I
wandered over to the HUB for a snack. I’ve been inside the HUB maybe three
times since I graduated in 1985, and every time I’ve been shocked by how much
everything has changed since I was a student. I open the same doors I opened nearly
daily for six years, but inside, nothing looks the same.
Still, I enjoy the vibrant energy of the UW campus, especially
between classes when students stream by in all directions. As I caught snippets
of conversations, I realized not everything changes; students still talk about
the same kinds of things.
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I may be a naughty USk admin, but I always show up for the group photo! |