Kay Yow Mural Defaced After UNC Game With Carolina Blue Paint

Campus News Fans General Kay Yow Media27

Raleigh, N.C. — A large portrait of North Carolina State University women’s basketball coach Kay Yow, who died one week ago from breast cancer, was defaced by blue graffiti and profanity Saturday night.

N.C. State sophomore Forbes Starling, 19, said he heard from other students that Yow’s mural had been defaced after the N.C. State home game against rival the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Saturday.

kay yow

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Campus News Fans General Kay Yow Media

27 Responses to Kay Yow Mural Defaced After UNC Game With Carolina Blue Paint

  1. for2n8son 02/01/2009 at 9:50 AM #

    This shows what happens when children do not have adult leaders to guide them.

  2. RickJ 02/01/2009 at 10:36 AM #

    Can’t wait for William Barber’s press conference.

  3. ryebread 02/01/2009 at 10:43 AM #

    Mark it down. Swofford will commission a study to attempt to shut down the free expression tunnel.

    He’s a master at killing virtually every NC State tradition that he can influence. This will be the ammo he needs (paired with the issue earlier this year), to do it.

    You stay classy UNC. I hate you.

  4. wufpup76 02/01/2009 at 10:50 AM #

    ^Agree.

    Somehow this will comeback on NC State, not God’s University

  5. LRM 02/01/2009 at 11:16 AM #

    Some piece of shit wanted attention, that’s all this is. That person has every right to express his asinine thoughts, particularly in a “free expression” tunnel, but I hope they find out who did it because the rest of us have the right to reap the consequences upon them.

    The problem with this, beyond the fact it’s completely tasteless and whoever did it deserves an asswhoop, is that WRAL continues to make news out of a what’s written in a free expression tunnel, which only fuels attention-craved lunatics. Instead, campus police should have just painted it over with gray and moved along — every one of us that went to State knows that anything you paint or write there might not last long. Now this idiot’s gonna get his wish: attention.

  6. Scooter 02/01/2009 at 11:19 AM #

    First, I don’t think this is reflective of most UNC fans. We have our own set of fans who would do the same thing if given the opportunity (and if we could win a freakin’ basketball game against UNC or Duke).

    That said, how absolutely tasteless, classless, and sad. Especially the “pro-cancer” comments. All we can ask is that karma works its magic on these a-holes.

  7. wufpup76 02/01/2009 at 11:22 AM #

    “That person has every right to express his asinine thoughts, particularly in a “free expression” tunnel, but I hope they find out who did it because the rest of us have the right to reap the consequences upon them. ”

    ***yep***

    And right now these attention wh*res are probably somewhere laughing at the coverage they are getting

  8. JEOH2 02/01/2009 at 11:39 AM #

    For those that DON’T think that this should’ve been reported:

    – Would you rather NOT know about it, pretend it didn’t happen, censor ourselves so we didn’t know people’s sentiments? Hide ourselves away from the cruelties of the human mind (especially young people), when it DIRECTLY relates to someone so dear to us?

    – Why do we always just assume these people just want attention, when in both the earlier case and this one, the persons who did it are not bringing themselves out publicly? Couldn’t we also assume that they did this because they, well, just WANTED to deface her memorial?

    Knowing Eve as an acquaintance, I expected some idiots from our university to disrespect her tragedy…yet all I could hear were kind words and don’t recall any incidents like this towards her… regardless of the fact that this definitely doesn’t represent their entire population…it still pisses me off that someone from Chapel Hill would deface a student-made memorial to such a wonderful woman….and it should piss you off too…

  9. doatesjr 02/01/2009 at 12:22 PM #

    First of all, whoever did it is a complete waste of space and should have their ass kicked. That being said, it could have been any Wal-Mart UNC fan, not necessarily a student, etc. Every fan base has its share of a-holes, and something like this shouldn’t reflect on the entire set of fans in general.

  10. blpack 02/01/2009 at 1:05 PM #

    I had UNC-ch fan at church today tell me he did the ‘wolf sign’ on Friday during Kay’s funeral. His mom had what Kay had. He would not condone this. That said, the person who did this should be taught a lesson.

  11. UpstateSCWolfpack 02/01/2009 at 4:15 PM #

    I hate UNC as much as anyone, but after the UNC women wore pink against Maryland, I don’t see this as anything that a true UNC fan would do. This was some band-wagon jackass that has no sense of common decency. UNC needs to handle this, they should publicly call out this person and show that they are better then this d-bag.

  12. beowolf 02/01/2009 at 4:55 PM #

    You’re absolutely right in thinking that this will be used as a reason to shut down the Free Expression Tunnel. That is clearly on the agenda at UNC. Every offensive thing that happens in it will be “news.”

    Should the mural have been defaced? No. Should the artist have expected a mural in the Free Expression Tunnel to be defaced? Yes. The rules of the Free Expression Tunnel are known to all within the student body — they aren’t known to people on the outside, which is why it’s easy to blow every offensive graffito way the hell out of proportion.

    Chancellor Oblinger should stand up for tradition instead of being a complete p[an]sy about this, but any phrase beginning “Chancellor Oblinger should” isn’t going to have a good ending.

  13. BoKnowsNCS71 02/01/2009 at 6:07 PM #

    Universities were created to educate young people. Some times it takes longer for some of them to learn. Unfortunately, both bigots and people still learning how to remove their heads from their butts take longer to educate.

    Really ugly, malicious, and stupid action by some drunk tar heel fans who some day may have to face the ravages of cancer with his parents, siblings, spouse or children — and if they have any small bit of a conscience at all — they are going to regret this act till they die.

    This action is in no way representative of the majority of people who support UNC and disgracing your school by doing this is really stupid.

  14. LRM 02/01/2009 at 7:02 PM #

    It’s also a steep assumption to assume the jackass that did this went to Carolina, or is even a Carolina fan. If it’s a State student getting his rocks off on something like this, I hope he gets a front-page story with his picture in the Technician — then he’ll get a real-life lesson on free speech.

  15. timswar 02/01/2009 at 7:12 PM #

    I may not agree with everything that gets put in there, but you’ll never get me angry or upset over someone painting something I disagree with in the Free Expression Tunnel.

    It’s their right to express themselves just as it was my right when I was a student there.

    As always with the tunnel, if you don’t like what’s been painted there then go to the tunnel and paint over it.

  16. BoKnowsNCS71 02/01/2009 at 7:25 PM #

    LRM – I think a lot of Carolina “fans” probably never went to Carolina. So the assumption is that someone taking the effort to paint a blue mustache is most likely pro-Carolina. Which is why I added the disclaimer that in no way should the actions of a fool be mistaken for the folks at that institution.

  17. Wufpacker 02/02/2009 at 2:20 AM #

    Thats just sad.

  18. RegularExpression 02/02/2009 at 9:25 AM #

    Personally I think painting a mural in the free expression tunnel and expecting it to stay pristine is kind of like building a sandcastle at low tide and expecting it to be there the next day.

    I found this quote from the story interesting:
    “University police said they received a report about the graffiti, but that unless they find out who painted it, officers cannot pursue the case further.”

    And if they did find out who painted it, just what would they do? Arrest them for legally painting something stupid in the free expression tunnel? Our jails would be full if they wanted to go down that slippery slope.

    Unfortunately I agree that this and the Obama incident may be the opening the “leaders” of this university need to try to make a push to do away with the FET.

  19. Classof89 02/02/2009 at 9:34 AM #

    THe true test of a free society, IMO, is what we do about speech that is universally held to be offensive. It’s easy to be a free speech advocate for speech everyone wants to hear…

  20. ktoh 02/02/2009 at 9:58 AM #

    Pathetic and narrow minded.

  21. backinpack 02/02/2009 at 10:02 AM #

    It’s too bad that people lack class, but this is why it’s called the FREE EXPRESSION tunnel. I have a feeling this is news to help try and get students, alumni, and faculty at NC State upset, so there we will support the initiative to destroy the true meaning of the tunnel and start policing it. I wouldn’t be shocked if the NAACP did it. 😉

    I think we need to hang a plaque above the tunnel that says something like this:

    “I may not agree with anything you paint, but I will fight with anyone for your right to paint it.” –backinpack

  22. UNC DonkeyPncher 02/02/2009 at 10:09 AM #

    I think we all now know where Copeland went when he left the game a few minutes early…. I was wondering what he was doing with that can of carolina blue paint…..

  23. harrisek 02/02/2009 at 11:03 AM #

    This was not something that any right-thinking person would do, regardless of freedom of speech. Freedom means responsibility too. This was the work of sick and cowardly individual who is in dire need of therapy.

    Next time, sign your name to it your coward!

  24. backinpack 02/02/2009 at 11:38 AM #

    This was not something that any right-thinking person would do, regardless of freedom of speech. Freedom means responsibility too. This was the work of sick and cowardly individual who is in dire need of therapy.

    I too feel that the person needs help, but NOT criminal prosecution.

    Persecution is fine though. 😉

  25. 66pack 02/02/2009 at 12:00 PM #

    May not have even been a unc fan,just someone desiring to start a controversy.

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