Mural Symbolizes College Commitment to Better World

Students had a blast painting the new mural on the Merc.

Thursday, December 06

A large mural being painted on the side of the Emory Mercantile, also known as the Emory & Henry College bookstore, is a symbol of the College’s impact on the world through service, according to one of the two student artists who designed it.

Cat Richardson, a senior from Colonial Heights, Va., said in designing the mural she and fellow student Brian Stanley, a junior from Fieldale, Va., wanted something that was a play on the College’s motto, “Increase in Excellence.” The two landed upon the idea of a tree growing from a depiction of the planet framed by the words “Increasing the World’s Excellence.”

“At Emory we do a lot to serve the community and the world,” Richardson said. “We do it often because it’s required of us, but we also do it because that’s the type of students we are.”

Richardson and Stanley’s design was selected for the mural from among several that were submitted to a competition sponsored by the E&H Student Government Association.

Richardson and Stanley began painting the mural Thursday, Dec. 6, and were joined by other students in the project. As they worked numerous people stopped by to observe the work and take photographs.

“People have been really excited about it,” Richardson said. “It’s really been cool, because it’s something that I’m doing now during my senior year, but will stay here after I graduate.”