The Thoughts Left Behind: West Campus.
West Campus or West University is the heart of off-campus living when it comes to UT Austin living. It’s home to a plethora of restaurants, shops, services, and of course residential areas such as apartments and condos. It is one of the densest neighborhoods in the city of Austin, Texas with over 17,000+ people (mostly college students) living in this neighborhood. The neighborhood is very lively with people walking to and from places to reach their destinations. Because of this, it allows for many interactions to take place between residents and their environment (West Campus).
Information throughout West Campus
As human beings, we are always finding ways to connect to one another in many different ways. Whether it’s by leaving information that might be beneficial to someone else or by leaving a mark of self-expression. All throughout west campus telephone poles are covered in staples, so much so they barely have enough space for another staple. This acts as a signal to other people, letting them know it’s okay to put up what you want others to know via a poster, a sign, whatever can display what we want to communicate to others. They offer information on various things like upcoming events, places to rent, COVID-Safety information, etc. There were no empty telephone poles left around here that hadn’t been touched in some way or another. In the same way, various empty spaces were left covered in marks of self-expression. Traffic poles and the back of street signs were filled with stickers. All displaying different forms of names, brands, legendary icons, and art. If a pole wasn’t covered with staples it was covered in stickers.
Telephone poles and empty signs were not intentionally designed to be used as a means of communication between people. They were purposefully designed to inform people of the next traffic signal or made to keep your phone working. However, they could afford to have possible interactions between people and their surroundings as they were able to provide an empty space for people who wanted to voice a multitude of things to others. It encouraged others, even more, to use them intentionally like this because of the signifiers that were left by other people. The staples left behind in telephones acted as a signifier to other people that it was normal to put up papers. The same signifiers applied to stickers left in signs and traffic poles since the signifier was perceivable to others.
Traveling throughout West Campus
Without noticing we unconsciously look for other signs that people leave, especially when we’re confused. We rely on others for a type of direction when we don’t know what to do next. A lot of traveling that takes place throughout West campus happens through scooters. As you walk around West Campus you’ll see a multitude of scooters parked in odd places. Scooters are left on the sidewalk blocking the path for others or left in the middle of the street which could be potentially dangerous for cars driving by. Essentially, they are left in places that are convenient for the people who were using it but inconvenient for others who are passing by. An open corner of space in the sidewalk/street encourages people to leave their scooters there out of convenience rather than parking them in a designated parking space. Despite a bike rack being within walking distance or around the corner, a place where scooters could be left, it seems like people can afford the space to leave the scooter in an undesignated spot.
Once an empty space prompts someone to leave a scooter out of convenience that becomes a signifier for others. The signifier (the act of leaving the scooter behind) communicates where and how the action should take place. Thus you’ll often see a pile of scooters in a particular spot, the signifier was unintentional however it served as an important communication device to the recipient whether or not the communication was intended.
Trash Throughout West Campus
As you walk through West Campus it’s hard to ignore the enormous amount of construction taking place. Around every corner, you’ll see detour signs due to construction and huge chain link fences that prevent pedestrians from entering areas of construction. It’s an area that’s constantly growing and adapting to the needs of its residents. Because of the constant construction and student residents moving out of apartments and into new ones, lots of items are left behind as a result. A lot of miscellaneous items like blocks of furniture, chairs, mattresses, etc can be found all throughout West campus. Trash is left in empty spaces in front of residential areas or near construction areas. It seems that trash bins and dumpsters are left on the side of the street as well. Since there is no proper place to dump big items near West Campus it often leads to people trash dumping in places near construction areas.
The construction areas lead to a lot of debris around the premise such as blocks of cement being left out or ripped up sandbags, the appearance of these areas becomes a signifier to others that it’s okay to leave unnecessary items around these areas as well. This was not intended communication, it was still perceived as that, and without much thought, items were left behind in improper places.
In conclusion, West Campus holds a plethora of interactions between people and their surroundings. Because student life is so hectic and rushed, many interactions are simply thoughtless acts that happened to take place due to a multitude of signifiers left behind by other residents of the area. Without meaning to, we look for signs in our surroundings left by others to tell us what to do or what not to do, and depending on the recipient the thoughtless acts will or will not be committed as well.