A Solitary Act of Defiance

John Gianvito walked into the Boylston Place alley alone, took out his chalk, and began inscribing messages of political courage on the walls of the alley where students were arrested one year ago. 

     Gianvito, a full professor in VMA and a distinguished filmmaker, carried out his solitary act of defiance April 1 in full knowledge that it would likely bring retaliation from the Emerson administration. He was not masked and did not hide.

      “My hope with this simple action was to inspire others to be willing to take more risks, not only here at Emerson but out in the world,” Gianvito later wrote in explanation.  Video of his solitary act and his statement can be seen here.

    Gianvito finished his work without interference, and a few pedestrians stopped to watch and photograph. As of last week, he had not received any reaction from the administration. Facilities hosed off the chalked quotations about an hour after he left.

    “To The Daring Belongs the Future,” Gianvito had written, a quote he considers a favorite. It is from Emma Goldman, a writer and activist in the early 20^th century. 

    On another facet of the Walker Building wall, he wrote, “Without Civil Disobedience, Democracy Would Not Exist,” a quote from Howard Zinn;  “If Not Now, When?”; and “People have only as much liberty as they have intelligence to want and the Courage to take,” also from Emma Goldman. 

     Gianvito, who has been at Emerson since 2003, said he had contemplated the action for some time and felt further encouraged and validated to go ahead by New Jersey Senator Cory Booker’s one-man filibuster the previous night in the U.S. Senate, opposing repression by President Trump. 

    “While my own endeavor was far more humble, what I know is that it is going to require innumerable acts of resistance and of civil disobedience, including efforts in defense of free expression, if we hold any hope of overcoming those currently hell bent on destroying the American democratic experiment,” Gianvito wrote later.

  He said he hoped to encourage resistance “in the face of the exponentially spiraling consequences of unchecked authoritarianism.”   

    On April 25, 2024, 118 protesters camping in the alley to demonstrate against the bombing of civilians by Israel were arrested. The college administration imposed a unilateral policy banning unapproved protests and claimed that any such demonstration in the alleyway was banned by its policy. The administration continues to pursue an aggressive campaign of discipline against students, staff, and faculty for protests since then.