Students talk about graffiti
for two hours yesterday in the school's cafeteria trying to assess the mood after vandals spray painted several buildings with graffiti.
Although no clear solutions emerged, student council members who spoke to The Royal Gazette after the meeting because the media was barred from entering, said the writing reflected the writer's feeling of powerlessness.
"We didn't really try to figure out why the person or persons did this,'' student council president Ms Juanita Rozzell said. "We were more interested in how it affected everyone so that we could move on from here.'' Meanwhile, Mr. Miguel DaPonte, who is the student representative to the administration, said that while there were those students who agreed with the sentiments the graffiti expressed, others disagreed and many were indifferent.
The flagrant messages which were sprayed in red and black paint sometime on Monday night, covered the walls near the student centre, South Hall and New Hall.
While some called for the Governor's death, others championed Black Power and revolution.
Student council members said that the controversy had helped them to better define their role as the bridge between the administration and the students.
Although the council encompasses more than 500 full and part time Bermuda College students, it was heavily criticised by some students.
Ms Rozzell, as president, was slammed for speaking to the media on Tuesday when she was never elected for her position in a vote of the larger student body.
And the council vowed to try to ameliorate this situation.
Ms Zakiya Johnson said the council intended to "be more than just a place to go on a Wednesday.
"The consensus is that they don't know who we are and they don't know our roles,'' she said.
Meanwhile, student Norman Robinson, 23, said he could understand why someone felt the need to take such drastic measures, because the recent hiring of British nationals to head the Police Force demonstrated that the proper channels do not work.
"Those hirings are a slap in the face to us as students,'' he said. "It simply fulfils the old stereotype that Bermudians are unable to perform in the top jobs.
"Our 40 elected officials can do nothing to stop the Governor's decision, what we really need is Independence.''