A sign reading “Rush Slytherin.” Happy Birthday messages. A small man sticking out his tongue under The Arch.
Members of Happiness Club and passersby used a cart full of chalk to cover the sidewalk on Sheridan Road with whatever came to mind Wednesday night.
“Chalking is fun,” said Alex Wilson, Happiness Club president. “It’s just nice drawing stuff and covering the sidewalk with art.”
Wilson, a McCormick sophomore, said the group purchased the chalk with a Be the Change Grant from the Center for Student Involvement. The grant is “designed to encourage students to re-imagine Northwestern through campus beautification, projects, community building, and creativity,” according to the Center for Student Involvement’s website.
Eileen Dominic, who is on the Happiness Club listserv, said she received the invitation to chalk Sheridan at just the right time.
“I had actually recently said to one of my friends, ‘Wouldn’t it be really cool if we wrote compliments all over the sidewalk?'” the Communication freshman said.
Dominic planned to write things like “I Like Your Shoes” and draw games, including hopscotch, on the sidewalk.
The group did a similar event last year but Wilson said he was hopeful for a bigger turnout this year. Happiness Club began about two years ago and was officially recognized by Associated Student Government during Winter Quarter.
“We’ve definitely grown as a group,” Wilson said. “ASG recognition was a big step. We’re doing more and bigger events.”
The students met at The Arch at 9 p.m. Some passersby who didn’t know about the event beforehand stopped to join in, Communication sophomore Dan Zhang said.
“We’ve actually run into a couple of complete strangers who stopped by,” he said. “They got really excited.”
Eric Smith, a member of the Happiness Club’s executive board, said he was drawing a small crossword that read “YEAH HAPPINESS” because he loved crosswords. Later, he paused after drawing a rainbow directly under The Arch.
“Oh, a pot of gold! That’s what it needs,” the Weinberg sophomore said.
Wilson said the group bought the chalk at a dollar store and at Target.
Marina Mason said she planned to come to the event beforehand and was going to join the group.
“I need to get out of my room,” the Weinberg freshman said.
Last year, Wilson said people liked looking at the drawings on Sheridan all day long.
“Overall, the goal of the club is to make people happy,” Wilson said. “Anything that does that will do the trick.”
