Sylvia Kline ‘28

On Oct. 13, the annual Esther Raushenbush Library Halloween art installation was installed and depicted a political, chronological narrative. Progressing as one moved up the stairs, each vignette displayed a historical element with accompanying books from the library’s collection and skeletons portraying each event. Beginning on the bottom floor, the story began with war, genocide, poverty, immigration and political divison, eventually progressing up into hope, love and friendship.

Towards the top of the stairs, there were two skeletons ostensibly of opposing ideologies, chained to their subsequent books. A librarian skeleton sat on the top of the stairs, holding the key to the chain that bound the warring ideological skeletons.

“It’s difficult to express serious issues in a light hearted way,” library director Mustafa Sakarya stated.

One of the books displayed in the installation was “Why We’re Polarized” by New York Times columnist Ezra Klein. The printed cover had appeared to have fallen off, so Sakarya reprinted the cover and re-displayed Klein’s book. The cover went missing again the next day, “at that point I suspected foul play.” Sakarya determinedly replaced the cover, this time with glue, and posted a little note under the display. The note was addressed to the vandalizer, and asked why they hated the book so much while encouraging them to express their opinions in the comment book on the top floor of the library instead of damaging the installation.

Despite this, the cover and the note were ripped down once again. Klein is often criticized for his position as a left-leaning centrist. He is often condemned for his centrist stances by more Democratic and left-leaning individuals, with his recent controversial op-ed titled: “Charlie Kirk was Practicing Politics the Right Way” following Kirk’s assassination.

Now, the skeletons that were once in various positions of begging, eating, attacking one another and protesting are all simply holding books and reading.

What prompted this sizable change to the installation was not the repeated vandalization, but rather an impactful conversation Sakarya had with a student whom he is acquainted with. Sakarya stated that this student had approached him with genuine concerns and discomfort regarding his installation. The student’s unease was primarily due to the list of active war zones listed at the bottom of the installation including Palestine, Sudan and the Congo, accompanied by the use of the skeleton motif.

This student expressed that, including themselves, at least 40 students were uncomfortable with the installation and had begun to avoid the library completely. “If a student felt bad enough to talk to me directly, then there was an issue,” Sakarya stated. He considered that the installation would be disquieting if, perhaps, a student had family members internationally in war-torn countries or dangerous situations.

“My goal was positive,” Sakarya said. “I had to make adjustments in my vision.”

Sakarya asserted that this was truly a positive learning experience for him, and that he thanked the student for their courage to speak up. Further, Sakarya said that it’s important for him within his position to “get feedback and adjust accordingly, I don’t feel bad [about the changes]. I learned from this, and I was genuinely affected by this.”

In a follow-up email sent after the initial interview, Sakarya said: “My conversation with the student was informative and helpful. I’m actually glad I can have a Part II for the exhibition.”

The student had not yet responded to Sakarya’s email updating them on the renovated installation, but he hopes that the student will return to the library soon. The Halloween installation will remain on display until the end of the weekend, with its last day being Nov. 3.

Library’s Halloween Installation Remodeled After Student Feedback