"It's A Revolution I Suppose"

 I'm not the first one to think of painting the stairs. Not even the first at KSU. This picture was recently taken in the Central Parking deck stairwell. I wonder what the local KSU graffiti artist meant by this…why did he choose to paint it on the parking deck stairs? What is the significance behind "LOVE"? Surely this wasn't intended to provoke change in stair usage…but what was it intended to provoke? 

Its troublesome when adults ignore or put aside students' opinions and voices. I came across this problem when trying to contact the important people necessary to get my project going.  But no worries! With the help of my KSU 1121 professor, my project idea is now out there and being considered by multiple people and departments associated with KSU. My next "steps" are to write a clear cut plan describing timelines, design and materials needed to initiate the project. Conveniently, one of my dad's patients works for Lanier Parking company, the company that manages the KSU parking decks. She passed on the name of the area manager who specifically works with the Central Deck. Hopefully once I get things going, he will be of help in assisting me further with my project. Having connections rocks!

Because of communication failures, I am going to have to abandon the "Take the Stairs Campaign" and start my very own campaign, unique to KSU. Potential names for the campaign include: Kennesaw Step Up, Climb to The Top, or Stairway to Better Health! I am open to name suggestions (PLEASE!). In the mean time, I will be brainstorming and making decisions on what needs to happen, to make it happen! 

Goals for this week:

-Figure out exactly what I need to do for this project

-Write a project proposal 

-Send proposal to whom it concerns

Climb on everyone! 

Stepping Stones

Over the summer, my cousin Kelly, who attends grad school at Boston University, told me about an awesome campaign called "Take the Stairs".  The Boston Public Health Commission initiated this campaign to motivate people to choose the stairs over the elevator. As a part of the campaign, they painted murals on the stairwell walls to enhance its appearance and attract people to the stairs. I thought this idea was ingenious!

My senior research project was based off of this same principal. I investigated how positive and negative images influenced food choice decision making. There was a positive correlation between healthy food choices and positive images . This concept of manipulating environments to create a change is often used.  In

[caption id="attachment_111" align="alignleft" width="300"] Piano Staircase found in Odenplan, Stockholm.[/caption]

Odenplan, Stockholm a team of industrial designers transformed a bus station stair case into an interactive piano staircase (click to watch the Piano Staircase video!). As a result, 66% of people chose the stairs over the elevator. Why? Because it was FUN!

This is my goal. I want to make taking the stairs a fun thing to do! The KSU Central Parking Deck is the second largest parking deck in the state of Georgia, besides the parking deck at Hartsfield  Jackson International Airport.

[caption id="attachment_112" align="alignright" width="270"] Kennesaw State University Central Parking Deck.
6,362 parking spaces.[/caption]

For my KSU 1121: Be the Change class, I would like to make it my project to bring the Take the Stairs campaign to campus. My vision is to get the KSU Art majors to volunteer to paint murals on the stairwell walls. I think that Kennesaw State University is a great place to start a wellness campaign. This is a fun way to get students moving and in the process, solve the many maintenance issues the elevators incur!

So far  I have contacted the people necessary to help me get this going. Unfortunately, I have yet to receive any responses. As soon as I do, though, I will be well on my way--(or not, but I don't want any negative vibes!) As you can probably tell, I'm very passionate about this project and I want to keep you guys up to date on my progress, live time!

Climb on!