Ben Meyers said he first saw the word when he drove past the wall on the morning of June 11.
“S--t” was spray-painted black against a yellow background about 5 feet long.
“When I first drove by, I didn’t believe what I was seeing,” said the 23-year-old food and resource economics first-year graduate student. “The second time I drove by I was like, ‘Woah.’ Then I took a Snapchat.”
But by the next morning, the profanity on the 34th Street Wall was gone. Another artist painted over it and spelled out “Happy Summer” in big, black letters.
The incident isn’t isolated, but it’s also not rampant.
Gainesville Police spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said any type of graffiti is technically illegal citywide, but allowing the 34th Street Wall tradition to continue is an unwritten rule.
“We have never had an arrest related to someone posting graffiti on the wall,” he said.
In recent years, the 1,120-foot-long landmark has experienced few incidents of profanity, said Gina Hawkins, the executive director of Keep Alachua County Beautiful. She said she can recall two.
But Hawkins said that the organization is rarely notified of incidents because other graffiti artists usually paint over any distasteful remarks.
Tobias agreed that the wall is moderated by residents.
“The wall almost polices itself,” Tobias said. “People maintain the wall.”
