By: Kendall Keylor
Right outside of one of Arkansas’ most prized possessions, Old Main, is where the reconstruction will take place.
The hand chiseled names were created on wet cement for a tradition known as senior walk at the University of Arkansas.
The oldest sections dating back to the early 1900s are being replaced due to the crumbling portions of concrete.
“The earlier years, especially the ones that are having the biggest trouble, so a decision was made to replace cement with stone, and have the names engraved in stone, rather than in concrete,” said Charlie Alison, from University Relations.
Times have changed, therefore a face lift is needed for these early names.
A method called sandblasting, which is the same technique used for creating new senior walks today, will be used to reconstruct the original names. This will show the names more clearly, giving them the prominent look they deserve.
One important person whose name appears on the early 1920s senior walk, has made a large impact on the Arkansas community. His name is J. William Fulbright. The J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences was dedicated and named after him in 1982.
“I think it does have an impact on a person,” Alison said. “You think about that going through school as you’re getting your own degree, and realize at some point ‘if I finish this, I’m going to get my name on the walk as well.’ If we start taking them off early just to make room for somebody else, it wouldn’t have the same sense of immortality that senior walk conveys.”
Over one hundred years later, senior walk continues to make an impact on graduating students.
Plans have not been finalized yet on how they will go about reconstructing the early names on senior walk, but the university plans to make sure that these names are never forgotten.