Students plan to continue Wells legacy

Senior Brett Warnke describes walking through Ballantine's halls as "boring, dull, isolating and alienating," but he's working to change that.\nWarnke is president of One for Diversity, a student organization that strives to add more artwork to the academic buildings, starting with Ballantine Hall.\nLast year, OFD formed with hopes to continue Herman B Wells' legacy of art but fizzled soon after its kick-off that united many campus groups to pursue this goal. The committee had "no budget, no goals, just the idea of getting more art on campus and tying it in with diversity," Warnke said.\nWhen most members of the OFD committee graduated in May, Warnke was asked to take over. This summer he and graduate student Emily Butwin searched the University's archives for artwork and were overwhelmed with the possibilities.\n"We visited IU Archives and realized the possibilities were endless. They collect photographs, student publications, anything relating to IU from its inception to the present," Butwin said. "It was hard to know just how to 'illustrate' diversity, and we were also unsure of the budget at that point."\nAlthough Warnke gave Butwin his input about the artwork, Butwin made the final decisions. \n"I have planned two large cases of archival materials -- one dealing with the importance of diverse artwork on the IU campus, and the other dealing with the power of students to express their opinions," Butwin said.\nButwin divided the exhibit into three phases so that each part can be installed as funding comes in. Funding, Warnke said, is the biggest obstacle for this $11,000 project. It actually costs more to frame the artwork than the cost of the artwork itself.\nHowever, Warnke is not looking for a handout from the administration.\n"I want this to be a student-led funded project."\nJunior Duane Ingram, vice president of the Black Student Union, joined OFD because Warnke contacted him about the project and he liked its goals.\nIngram said he believes the administration may think the art is diverse because its creators are people from diverse backgrounds but that people will understand the value for what it is when they see faces of different races in the artwork. \n"I feel since campus has taken a stand on diversity, campus itself should reflect it," Ingram said.\nCurrently the OFD is planning an event for Oct. 12 that will unveil the Ballantine floor plan, the pieces of art they have and their goals for the future. \nWarnke hopes the event will spark interest in the students and administration for the project so it can continue after this year.\n"Brett is an incredibly motivated and motivating individual," Butwin said. "If the launch of this exhibit is successful and there is demand for extension of the project, OFD will need more people like him to carry on the workload."\nWarnke wants more students to become involved so the project will stay alive and encourages those interested to e-mail him at bawarnke@indiana.edu.\n"If we get students involved for this first floor, people will realize we can add exhibits in other places around campus," Warnke said. "The first floor in Ballantine is a firecracker when there can be an explosion."\n-- Contact staff writer Ashley Rhodebeck at arhodebe@indiana.edu.