Over the past few weeks, campus has been plastered with a barrage of blue, plastic labels. Walking through the doors of the science center, labels reading "LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE RUNNING LATE AGAIN, "I’M TOO BUSY TO WAIT," or "$$$ COLLEGE $$$," have left many students bewildered at their obscure meaning and lack of purpose. Some are mystified, others outraged, and some have interpreted it as the newest fad in spontaneous literature. When and where did this phenomenon begin, who started it, and what does it all mean?

To be sure, labeling is not just a local trend. It’s been "SPREADING LIKE A BLUE VIRUS," as one cryptic label quips, to venues like Oberlin College in Ohio. In the Nov. 17 issue of The Oberlin Review, one particular article examined the declining state of student writing at their university. Colin Booy, the author of the article, concludes, "Taken broadly, this goal - the de-isolation of expression - contains a profound idealism: the same idealism seen in the delightfully absurd blue labels appearing all over campus."

For the students at Oberlin, it seems the labels have been interpreted as an innovative form of anonymous, underground expression.

Speculation is rampant. 

"I heard it has something to do with the Tibetan liberation movement," said David Henschke ’03. "Either that or some kind of sick, underground cult. In fact, it might even be a subversive communist plot."

Residents of West College (WestCo) recently experienced the marvel of labeling firsthand. According to students, the name of every single commercial store or building on Main Street was labeled and pasted on the walls. From Pelton’s to Cornerstone’s to Ortiz’s Spanish-American grocery, each store was meticulously stickered and used to decorate the hall. Even more interesting, the names of every resident on WestCo 3 were mysteriously placed on parking meters, newspaper vending machines and other obscure locations down on Main Street. Why? Nobody, save the perpetrator of this infectious delirium, can be sure.

Students have varying opinions about the labels.

"It doesn’t seem to make any fucking sense. It’s not even funny," said Matt Lieb ’03, a WestCo resident. "You’d think having a bunch of labeling tape would be a good opportunity to do something funny, but I just don’t get it. I’m completely in the dark."

"This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to this campus," said Martin Medina ’01.

Finally, after receiving an anonymous tip, the Argus caught up with the founder of the labeling movement, Rutherford Chang ’02. Wearing a bright yellow University of Iowa sweatshirt caked with numerous labels, he wasn’t hard to spot. Known for walking the fine line between insanity and ingenious creativity, Chang immediately began to live up to his reputation. 

"I got my first labeler last February, but things didn’t start getting out of control until recently," he said. "Things really took off when I won an Ebay bid for 216 roles of 3/8-inch glossy blue labeling tape."

"At first I was thrown off when I started seeing labels around that I didn’t make," he said. "But I’m really glad that it has taken on a life of it’s own. This whole labeling movement is like a contagious art virus. I meet people every day who want to start labeling and I’ve handed out some labelers [machines] to further progress this  movement. It’s spread out of the Wesleyan bubble, too. I know of labelers in Providence, Philadelphia, California, Ohio, Tulsa, and Albuquerque. It’s out of my hands now."

According to Chang, the whole movement seems to be revitalizing an otherwise outdated labeling device into something hip, savvy, and perhaps much cooler than those "Razor Scooters."

"I see labeling as a totally free and spontaneous commentary on whatever situation I find myself in," Chang said. 

Other classic labels include, "VIRUS," "THIS IS NOT HAPPENING," "PARTYING IS FUN," "SYMMETRY IS OVERRATED" (found on a mirror), "SYMMETRY IS OVERMATED," "A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN A DAY," "HATE LABEL FREE ZONE,"  "ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM," "WRITING ON THE WALLS," "LANDFILL" (found on a trash can), "SHE’S
NOT THINKING ABOUT YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE THE ROOM," "I SUPPORT CHALKINGS," "TAKEN FOR GRANTED," "MOCON IS AWESOME," "HUMANS ARE TOO
UPTIGHT," and many others.

The controversy over labeling seems to be gaining momentum. 

"This is not free speech, it’s immature," said Lex Kravitz ’01. "Bennet should call a forum to address this."

"I’m personally for, nor against, [sic] more extreme forms of graffiti," said Schuyler Whelden ’02.

"The labeling movement is spiraling out of control, out of the hands of its originators; an unstoppable virus mutating as it overwhelms efforts to subdue it by authorities such as Mark Edwards and Clifford Hill," said Jeremy Zelkha ’04, a labeler.

According to Chang, he has recently been receiving emails from someone claiming to belong to the FBI, warning him to cease all subversive actions, although it is doubtful that this is the person’s true identity. 

Some students see labeling as one of the most groundbreaking experimental art forms of the new millennium. Regardless of whether this turns out to be true, many are already falling victim to this curious novelty. Other students are holding out, but if the current trend is any indication, it may be only a matter of time before they too will be sporting their very own labeler.