Recently, there was a debate about Omnia’s Hall of Fame with its male-only portraits, mainly of previous rectors. The portraits gave us a realistic reminder of our patriarchal society where women are underrepresented. The good news is that a few of the Hall of Fame portraits have been replaced with digital screens, which will tell different stories. This is an inclusive and promising gesture showing that (y)our voices are being listened to, entrenching a greater sense of belonging.
As the Hall of Fame changes, the pictures on the wall in your office, hallway or meeting room might need to be changed too. Recently, I found myself in a conversation with my colleagues about pictures of a chicken and a cow hanging in a flex-meeting room in Radix. The chicken is deformed but the cow looks healthy. The argument was that the deformed chicken photo gives negative energy, while the cow gives a positive vibe.
New pictures on the wall could help relieve stress
While the pictures aim to convey an intentional message, the consensus among my colleagues was a wish to have them changed. As a frequent user of the flex-meeting room, I had never thought of the negative energy from the chicken picture. There is another picture of animals in the Radix East coffee corner: a flock of sheep on the heathland of the Veluwe. That picture evokes memories of my early childhood and my chore of looking after our sheep. There are uncountable pictures on walls in every WUR building; they convey specific research- or education-related messages but can also be full of life or bring positive energy.
What feeling does that picture in your study or office space give you? Now that the majority of departments are working on plans to accommodate the growing number of staff, it is probably time to rethink and rebrand our walls. As the saying goes, ‘a change is good as a rest’, and new pictures on the wall might help relieve the work or study stress among WUR staff and students while working on campus. My wish for something new on the wall is the organ that is still hanging in the Aula. It would fit in well in Omnia, certainly now that the Hall of Fame has changed. I’m still hoping to hear organ music on campus again.
Joshua Wambugu (40), from Kenya, is a PhD candidate in the Marine Animal Ecology and Environmental Policy groups. He is a Social Safety Guide with the DARE Project and a member of the project’s coordinating team. He loves cooking, hiking and birdwatching.
