Josh Wojtyna turned a whim into a platform for his campaign.
Everyone on the UConn Storrs campus knows what the rock is. It is the main rock across from North Garage everybody sees as they pull into campus each morning. The rock is known for always being painted differently – from club campaigns, upcoming campus events, or even mourn the death of a loved one.
As many people have seen by now, on Monday night the rock was painted in memory of Harambe, the gorilla that was shot at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden in May. The gorilla was killed after a video went viral showing Harambe grabbing, standing over, and dragging a four-year-old boy who managed to get into his enclosure. This lit the internet ablaze and sparked a national debate, but eventually started to die down like any other viral story.
However, it was brought back to life on UConn’s campus last night when sophomore Josh Wojtyna and his friends decided to decorate the rock in Harambe’s memory. Josh posted it to the UConn Buy or Sell Facebook page for the whole campus to see.
The business management major said he wasn’t even thinking about the campaign when he posted the photos.
“We did it solely on whim. We had some spray paint and some free time and decided to just go for it. Once it reached popularity on Buy or Sell UConn Tickets, I saw the opportunity and decided to jump on it,” he said.
Josh wanted to shed some light on his campaign for Commuter/Business Senator in the Student Government and bring attention to the parking issues on campus.
The post definitely reached the popularity Josh could use to his advantage. It got almost 1000 likes, 18 shares, and 45 comments from students who either thought it was clever or just got plain angry. One student commented, “UConn knows what’s good” and another wrote, “true art.”
However, not everyone thought it was as comical, with one student commenting, “This is so fucking stupid. If you really cared about animals then you would stop eating them for every meal.”
But Josh did not let the haters get to him and responded, “If humans really cared about animals we’d stop eating altogether.” Sassy, yet inspiring.
When asked what he hoped to do if elected, Josh said that he is prepared for anything that comes his way.
“Obviously as a commuter student, some of my concerns revolve around parking and general problems of the like.”
Every UConn student who has to drive to school in the morning knows that parking is a huge concern on campus. Most students have to leave their house 30–45 minutes early just to have that slight chance of getting a good parking spot, but most end up parking in lots that are far away like C‑lot or I‑lot where they have to take a bus to campus.
Being a commuter student himself, Josh knows first hand how bad the parking really is.
“I have had to walk 20 minutes from I lot to my first class even after arriving to campus 45 min early,” he said.
Josh vows to do whatever it takes to fix this issue if he is elected.
“It’s unacceptable that I should have to pay $244 for a parking pass when decent parking is that scarce,” he said.
Josh wanted to dedicate the painting to Gamma Sigma Sigma, the community service sorority that had the rock painted before them.
To vote for student elections, students can visit the election webpage to cast their ballet. Elections end September 21st at 11:59 pm.