Munger Hall Debacle

Protest Performance Element

The premise of my protest performance element revolves around the prevalent issues that cropped up upon the announcement of the implementation of the Munger Hall dormitory planned for UC Santa Barbara. The protest would take place on UCSB’s campus during a typical orientation event for incoming students, really targeting the fresh faces entering the student body as they’re getting their first real introduction to the campus scene. The head organizer of this protest would be dressed similar to that of the tour leaders (although not actually affiliated with the program) who are responsible for guiding new students all across campus. The head protester would be accompanied by a group of around fifteen to twenty individuals all in on the protest as well, consisting of adults posing as parents and younger individuals as students. The “parents” would be dressed in varied but regular clothing while the students would be adorned with the exact same, stand-out attires. The “students” would all possess UCSB soccer jerseys and shorts, resembling that of stereotypical jailbird clothing to appear as prisoners, reflecting the prison-esc nature Munger Hall exudes. Continuing this motif, the pretend students would all be shackled together as they journeyed all over UCSB’s campus, and have make-up resembling scuffed dirt splotches from their “hard labor”. The head protester, megaphone in hand, would loudly profess all about Munger Hall and what lies in store for the incoming students, speaking in a very passive-aggressive manner. Greater extent of the information can be found within the many brochures being passed out as well to serve as supplementary material for the attentive audience. The pretend parents would act ecstatic about the seemingly wonderful opportunity Munger Hall appears to bring, intentionally ignoring the feelings of their pretend soon-to-be students fully aware of the problematic implications brought on by its implementation. The “students” would simply mutter “Ole Ole Ole” in response, parodying that of the cheering during UCSB’s soccer games. This performance is designed to be an eye-catching but informative demonstration, the location and attire being instrumental in actively engaging the target audience while also standing as a great learning experience for the viewers.

Protest Performance Element Analysis

The imminent implementation of the proposed Munger Hall set to hit UC Santa Barbara’s campus in Fall 2025 has certainly brought with it some problematic baggage. From the mostly windowless unit design to its gigantic cold exterior making it appear indistinguishable from the likes of Cold Mountain Penitentiary or Ohio State Reformatory, Munger Hall has been presented more like a prison than additional student housing, and it’s clear to see that many share this sentiment with all the building contentions that quickly spawned in response to its proposal. If the collective of eight former University of California architects strongly opposing this “disaster in the making” is any indication of a truly harmful design, the groundwork of this project has rightfully sparked outrage and petitions alike, so much so that I desired to design a protest around the controversy of this soon-to-be establishment as a continuation of such efforts. This movement of mine is constructed to be striking in its performance to an almost comical extent, while also providing genuine insight on the troubling matters of Munger Hall to make for a positive learning experience. My protest performance element is meant to reveal the problematic implications of such a development the cause and get the uninitiated to acknowledge how prevalent an issue Munger Hall is, my endeavor only being strengthened by the outlandish premise, the surreal attire of all participants, and the usage of UCSB’s own campus.

The blueprints for Munger Hall depict a very compact living arrangement, one that certainly stands-out as unconventional from the rest currently installed at UCSB. We’re talking about a residential facility unlike any other: an eight-story, 1.68 million ft2 student dormitory that contains eight houses each compacted with eight individual apartment units with a total of eight sterile, separate rooms per apartment on every floor, and is prepared to warehouse 4,500 incoming students (Crook). My performance is designed to reflect the sheer absurdity of Munger Hall’s own design, essentially satirizing its ridiculous features. Take my idea for the head protester, their manic ravings detailing what a wonderful addition Munger Hall will make serves to mock the cliched pitch of a sleazy salesperson mixed with the up-beat attitude of a tour guide. They would embellish the inhumane prospects of both the concept of Munger Hall and UCSB’s administrative decisions in a light-hearted manner, the obvious disregard for the nonsense their uttering illustrates the ludicrousness of Munger Hall and endears the spectators into siding with reason. The megaphone only amplifies these inane postulations, effortlessly reaching the audience with high volumes while simultaneously drowning out any points of contention. In addition to this, juxtaposing the acting of “parents” versus “students” serves to exemplify the different perspectives held by their true counterparts. Parents are likely to merely examine the UCSB website that only pampers them with the enticing perks, the “parents” acting enamored by the “tour guide’s” ill-intentioned speech and oblivious to their children’s feelings. Students are likely to see the problems past the allure but begrudgingly persevere for the sake of their parents’ desires, the “students” sorrowfully chanting “Ole Ole Ole” as they drag along to mask their true feelings, closely packed together like a sardine tin that is Munger Hall. This eccentric performance deliberately gives off this crazed energy like the Munger Hall proposal itself, funneling criticism towards the core foundation of its bizarre execution through the elaborate act.

The specific clothing, make-up, and accessory choices for this performance element would be essential in really driving home the unorthodox nature of Munger Hall. The colorful and varied visuals of this protest are key in mirroring the harebrained, unethical practices brought on by Munger Hall, striking in appearance to garner great attention to such pertinent matters and being intriguingly multilayered - both figuratively and physically speaking. Son’s Embodied Reckonings discusses how the hemp vests worn compensated for how “Korean society has historically ostracized comfort women for their wartime victimization” and to spread “the pain of the comfort women”, and my idea for the attire of the activists plays off these notions (Son 38). The UCSB striped jerseys adorned by the “students” resemble cliched prison garments to represent their impending confinement within the prison-like Munger Hall, while the regular clothing of the “parents” contrasts that of the “students” drab apparel to magnify their normal behavior in spite of such a problematic installment, grounding the disjointed display in reality. All the “students” would be dressed this way, serving to highlight that Munger Hall would be responsible for the miserable state of students for the audience to sympathize with. The make-up also helps this peculiar presentation stand out prominently, scuffed skin and dirt smudges relates the emblematic toil of convicts to the internal turmoil new students will face if Munger Hall is eventually instated. In regards to the accessories in my protest, an article about the Umbrella Movement delving into how the umbrellas “provide not only passive defense from police but also signify their nonviolent principles” as supplementary items effectively illustrates the dual purposes of mine (Lahiri). The chains linking “students” together serve to illustrate both the chain gangs of prison life and how they’d fit right in with Munger Hall’s inhumane design philosophy, this attention to detail reinforcing the credibility of the cause. All this various equipment plays a vital role in selling Munger Hall as the insane proposal it’s presented as by way of a display that matches that vibe.

Holding this protest performance at UCSB would be quintessential for establishing a thorough presence representing the opposition against what Munger Hall represents. Taking place at UCSB itself allows for these salient ideas on Munger Hall’s detrimental design to flourish for the fresh eyes of incoming freshmen to take notice of, an orientation event being the best place at the best time. In reference to Khoury's story from In Terms of Performance, her words on how “it is crucial to work with what the site offers rather than regard it as an empty canvas [...], being wary of taking on the role of an occupier, a penetrator, a savior, an entrepreneur, or an intervener” really resonated with me for how my protest would be organized at UCSB (Khoury). UCSB has a stake in the decision behind Munger Hall’s enactment; hosting this performance on their grounds would offer an opportunity to exploit UCSB for its blatant oversight of their student body’s welfare. The activists would be the occupiers, the penetrators, the saviors to stand against the utter dismay Munger Hall would bring onto the university, performing in such an absurd manner on campus grounds parodying the vexatious, nonsensical actions of UCSB administrators regarding Munger Hall. An article on the Occupy Wall Street movement discusses how “occupying the streets represented immobilizing the intersection of our domestic and communal engagements, a place where the practical, routine functions of life are centralized”, and this too was an aspect I wanted to accentuate (Levitin). Such an outlandish demonstration would be seen as an intrusion of the flow that UCSB desires for presenting its campus in the best light possible during orientation events. This harmonious introduction would be disrupted by the protest, actively engaging with other actual tour groups to shatter their splendid image of UCSB and become privy to the reality of its significant issues. This protest could have functioned and gotten across its message just fine anywhere else, but having it held on UC Santa Barbara's own campus would truly strengthen its impact by revealing the obvious problems UCSB is neglecting to amend in plain sight.

This performance, while set out to reasonably dismantle Munger Hall’s problematic implementation to the public eye, still acknowledges the few upsides that Munger Hall presents in its entire proposal. This isn’t to say the occasional merits outweigh the genuine harm to be brought with such a design but rather cares to pay credit where credit is due for genuinely good ideas found within. For example, granting students their very own room to themselves in each apartment unit in which they can relish in privacy certainly sounds like a marvelous perk. The whole reason behind this new dormitory establishment is to account for the soaring enrollment rate of UCSB itself, space all across campus is becoming more and more occupied year after year so presenting a place for solitude studying and decompression is a plus. Amenities like a gym, dining commons, and a theater could potentially lead to creating a stronger community among the student body within. This could help foster strong relationships for incoming freshman to carry throughout their four years. Such counter arguments would be presented albeit in the form of brochures while the main issues would dominate over the megaphone, recognizing these values but still not letting them undercut the heart of the argument. It’s the execution of Munger Hall and UCSB’s insistence on its inclusion that’s really on the chopping block of this performance and will take the utmost precedence in tackling, but acknowledging the good is equally important when exposing the bad for the most appropriate takeaway.

This protest was designed to catch one’s immediate attention and keep it occupied, the dynamic display meant to enrapture audiences and provoke thought towards both the inhumane blueprints of Munger Hall and UC Santa Barbara’s ignorant priorities as a university. The almost comical and surreal nature of the performance was orchestrated as such to demonstrate the ridiculous nature of the Munger Hall project, while the informative elements served to provide an articulate analysis of the problematic implication to follow its completion. Through its execution, this protest performance element would hopefully accomplish its goal in attracting more and more to fight against Munger Hall’s installment, perhaps even inspire a more suitable alternative to tackling UCSB’s housing crisis that services both the few good concepts Munger Hall presents and the humane infrastructure desired by all, the best of both worlds.

Bibliography

Crook, Lizzie. 17 November 2021. “Petition Launched to Stop Construction of Controversial Munger Hall Dormitory.” Dezeen, 9 Feb. 2022, https://www.dezeen.com/2021/11/17/munger-hall-dormitory-petition/.

Lahiri, Tripti. “A Refresher Course on Hong Kong's 2014 Umbrella Movement.” Quartz, 26 Sept. 2019, https://qz.com/1714897/what-was-hong-kongs-umbrella-movement-about/.

Levitin, Michael. “Occupy Wall Street Did More than You Think.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 14 Sept. 2021, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/how-occupy-wall-street-reshaped-america/.

Khoury, Tania El. “In Terms of Performance.” Site, http://www.intermsofperformance.site/keywords/site/tania-el-khoury.

Son, Elizabeth W. “Embodying Claims for Redress: The Wednesday Demonstrations.” Embodied Reckonings: “Comfort Women," Performance, and Transpacific Redress, University of Michigan Press, 2018, pp. 27–64, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.8773540.6.