Social Issues on Walls: Graffiti in University Lavatories

Abstract

From the point of view of university authorities, graffiti are usually perceived as sheer expression of youthful exuberance, a manifestation of vandalism. However, a closer examination of the writings on the walls of college campuses will reveal that these graffiti are avenues through which a minority group, denied other legitimate media, articulate pent up social and political concerns. Such is the case of the graffiti found on the walls of buildings at the University of Benin, in Nigeria. The students feel that they have been denied access to other means of expressing their views on social as well as political matters, and so resort to expressing these views on the walls of buildings, mainly those of lavatory rooms, but also on the walls of the stairways. This paper examines the issues covered by these graffiti as well as the discourse strategies adopted for their expression.