Students and staff may have seen an influx in wall art around Hayes and, if so, there’s a strong chance it’s the work of the Hayes Beautification Committee.
Committee leader sophomore Flavia Galicia Jimenez describes it as “the vibe that’ll take your mind off of that Spanish test that’s coming up,” with the overall goal being to bring a bit more color to the hallways and classrooms of Hayes.
Some of their contributions around Hayes include the seasonally rotating painted windows in the hallway between the cafeteria and old wing and the large collage made up of Hayes clubs’ logos, located in the stairwell by the Rowland Center.
Committee Adviser Tom Hering explained the initial concept of the group, and what led to its current state.
“Last year, the committee was talking about lots of ideas and possibilities, we had this idea of this [horse collage], and gathered different images representing Hayes,” Hering said.
“The community kept getting smaller and smaller with finals season, so Flavia ended up being the one to step up and really put it together.”
Since then, the Beautification Committee has continued to grow, now having nearly 20 members. With more members comes more projects, and several ideas are being considered across the school.
“An idea was pitched about putting a painted piano in the music wing,” Galicia Jimenez said. “We’re also trying to see if we can paint other windows, like ones in the Rowland Center and classrooms.”
Another thing that the committee has considered is, with the possibility of a new high school on the horizon, expanding their efforts to the proposed second school as well.
“Who knows, in three years or so, we’ll probably start talking about the new high school that we’d move to eventually,” Hering said. “Maybe, when you walk into the building for the first time, there’ll already be art on the walls.”
Despite all of the talk about the future, the committee’s current effects on student life at Hayes shouldn’t be overlooked either.
“Seeing the art on the walls makes me happy,” sophomore Olivia King said. “To be honest, I didn’t know about the Beautification Committee before, but I’ve seen their work. It’s really awesome to have something like this [at Hayes].”
