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The Harrelson Tunnel, there were some issues related to it in terms of just access. You know it’s always this access from one side of the campus

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to the other with a railroad through the middle. But I recall the term “Free Expression Tunnel” being used.

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Maybe it was used in support of the idea of it or something, I don’t know, before it was a real name for it.

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But it was something that students felt was an important thing because it was free expression, but it needed to be sort of within certain boundaries.

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Besides, what harm is there? It’s a concrete tunnel under a railroad track.
I mean, come on. Give me a break.

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You can’t say: oh, we can’t do graffiti, or whatever. Of course this was long before the idea of graffiti as art, long before that, and tagging things and so on.

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But it was something that I think–. I guess it goes back to the whole idea of students being able to be present in the dialogue and it’s just one more way

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way in having responsibility for that. So I think it was important, but it wasn’t protests or any of that sort of thing. 

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It would be just sort of typical legislation and standing up and saying: we think this should happen.

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Interviewer: What was the attitude of administration?

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Wes McClure: Well I think it depends on what you mean by “administration,” because the administration goes all the way down from the chancellor to the physical plant.

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As far as physical plant was concerned: “Oh, that’s horrible. Anything that messes up any part of the physical plant: if they paint there, maybe they’ll paint next door.” 

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Our idea was: paint there and then you don’t paint next door.