I noticed this installation when I walked through Old Campus last week. Someone had taken over the bulletin board nearest the Elm Street entrance -- it was covered in orange.

After some investigation, I discovered that this and other interactive installations across campus are part of Sarah Eidelson's senior project for the art major. Sarah sent me a statement that describes her work. In her own words:

"In fall 2011, residents in 18 of New Haven's 30 wards went to the polls to elect their representatives to the New Haven Board of Aldermen -- more than in any local election in recent memory. Grassroots, community-based candidates beat those backed by the Democratic Party machine and invested in the status quo in 16 of these races. Because of this political sea change in our city and the personpower that brought it about, we have arrived at a moment where more is possible for our social and economic justice movement than ever before in New Haven's history.

On November 8, 2011, I was elected to the Board to represent Ward 1, which includes about 80% of Yale College students and a small portion of downtown New Haven. I ran on a platform of paradigm shift, committing to a policy vision for a New Haven where government works for people, no one lives in fear, and all neighborhoods are vibrant and inclusive. I won the support of my now-constituents through grassroots organizing.

This project is an exploration in visual translation of the history and the social movement of which I am a part. As an organizer, I am striving to move people through design the way I would through conversation. Over the past few months, I have created a series of interactive installations in public spaces on campus that aim to inform, instruct, and inspire my community about the extraordinary political moment we are in. This work is intended as a guide and as a call to action -- both to the immediate action that each installation demands, and to the larger action required by the potential of this moment."

See Sarah's and other art majors' work at the Senior Project Exhibition in Green Hall on Chapel Street. The show will be up through April 23.