Many of you may have noticed an unusual display that mysteriously appeared on your campus a couple of weeks ago. We’ve been told that they’re on every campus, and that the cryptic message is altered every few days.
The first appearance was right after Spring Break. It consisted of a four-foot poster that simply read, “Dead-End Job?” To add to the dead-end effect, decals resembling tire treads were placed on the floor leading up to the wall, and the area was cordoned off with traffic cones and “Caution” tape.
On Trinity River Campus, the display was placed at the end of Main Street by the Riverfront Café, right where many Radio Shack employees veer off to the escalators to work in the West Building. This caused some of them to infer that it was management’s way of hinting at impending layoffs, which led to record attendance at Trinity River’s Job Fair on March 28, and a rush on linen-finish resume paper at the Campus Bookstore.
Many Northwest Campus students just assumed it was a setting for a performance-art piece to be presented during their upcoming Dada Day celebration on April 4.
Mysterious Changes
About a week later, a graphic of a coach holding a bullhorn and a briefcase was stenciled over the existing poster. This led some students to speculate that TCC was so desperate for adjunct instructors; they were even considering their old Middle-School P.E. teachers.
Boxes of adhesive stickers printed with the same icon were also left at the scene. Last Thursday the displays were altered again with the addition of the words “Coming Soon.” We used our superior ciphering powers to theorize that whatever it is, we’ll find out soon.
An Elaborate April Fools’ Day Joke?
Given the timing of these events, we can’t help but wonder if it’s some kind of April Fools’ Day prank, but seeing that it’s now April 2, we’re beginning to rule out that theory, unless the pranksters behind this are really committed to next year.
A Social Media or Sports Connection?
At about the same time, some really creepy photos of our beloved mascot Toro were posted on TCC’s Facebook page. We even received a grainy photo of a sneaker-clad bovine foot, a briefcase and a can of spray paint. Could Toro be tagging posters on campus to promote a new mobile app?
The graphic features a coach with a whistle. IS TCC starting up a sports team? The coach is holding a briefcase, too. Could TCC be hosting trials to send an Olympic accounting team to London this summer?
Whatever this means, we’ll all just have to wait until the coach’s “Coming Soon” prophecy is fulfilled.