Pennies Plastered Across Hurlbut

When it comes to money, pennies are often derided as useless. The one-cent coins collect in jars and banks in countless closets and back shelves.

But in the first floor hallway of Hurlbut Hall, thousands of pennies are getting a new life--as decoration.

Pennies cover the hallway's walls, doors, door handles and even parts of the ceiling--almost 3,000 in all, Hurl-but residents say--and the number is growing daily. Students call the display the "Penny Project" and plan to donate proceeds to charity at the end of the year. The project began about a month ago.

"I had 40 pennies, and I made designs on the floor," says Wesley T. W. Shih '01. When the patterns were removed by cleaning staff, someone in the hallway suggested a more permanent location.

"It started out as a joke," says Jesse O. Kellerman '01. "When they got moved, we said, 'Why not put them on the walls?'"

Kellerman gave the project an early boost when he converted $19, which he had set aside for charity, into pennies. "I got a lot of funny looks that morning," he says.

Students on the first floor, which is home to nine first-years in single rooms, and their guests began adding spare pennies to the walls. An information sheet at one end of the hallway also offers visitors putty to affix their coins.

"Everyone's initial reaction is total shock, but then they reach into their pockets," says David J. Mitby '01.

Mitby calculates that 138,200 pennies, or more than $1,000, will be needed to completely cover the walls. But organizers say they are not afraid of theft.

"Nobody likes pennies," Kellerman says. "Nobody's going to steal 3,000 pennies."

Although most of the coins are scattered randomly on the walls, some more complex designs are emerging. Most residents have their names spelled out in pennies over their doors.

In addition, Mitby says he plans an extensive mural, using light, shiny pennies and darker, older ones to create shading.

But all is not well with the project.

Two weeks ago the Freshman Dean's Office (FDO) and Yard Operations began a review of the project because of concerns about damage to the walls and ceiling, according to students.

Assistant Dean of Freshmen David B. Fithian, who is responsible for Hurl-but, wrote in an e-mail that he advises the students not to continue their efforts, but no action has been taken thus far.

"It would be a shame for these students...to be charged for repairs and repainting--which is, of course, what we will be forced to do if they choose, against our advice, to continue," Fithian says in the e-mail.

Fithian adds that "the FDO does not allow postering of any kind in common hallways," which includes coins, he says.

"We're committed to cleaning up what we did," Mitby says.

In the meantime, residents say they have no plans to voluntarily discontinue the project.