记录无证人员

Sydney Avelino ’23 never thought her college experience would involve filling out 脚趾标签.

A 大众传播专业(失效链接) with a focus on public relations 而且 advertising, Avelino has been working with the 公务员事务局的职员 艾伯特年代. 库克图书馆 带 险恶地形94 (HT94) to life on the library’s third floor.

It is a participatory art project composed of more than 3,200 h而且written 脚趾标签 that represent migrants who have died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert of Arizona 从20世纪90年代中期到2019年. These tags are displayed on a wall map of the desert showing the exact locations where 遗骸被发现.

This is a coordinated exhibit between 库克图书馆, the 学生多样性中心 而且 Bcq9-Partnerships for Greater Baltimore.  

Avelino began working 带 HT94 to cq9 in 2019, when she served as the project’s engagement researcher 而且 event coordinator. While she has h而且ed off the position this year, she still attends events 而且 speaks about the exhibit as much as she can.

For her, HT94 was more than just a job, it was about telling the stories of those 谁不再有发言权.

“I remember the first toe tag I filled out. It was emotional because my birthday is July 2, 而且 they were discovered on July 3,” Avelino says. “我记得我是这么想的 when I was celebrating the date of my birth, there was a family mourning their loved 一个人的死亡.

“这些人. And sometimes you look at the ages on the spreadsheet, 而且 they go as low as six years old, 而且 they are crossing the desert to get a better life. It puts so much into perspective.”

The exhibit will be on display until Dec. 9, with a special student response event on Wednesday, Dec. 4点30分.m. 个人 interested in completing 脚趾标签 for the exhibition can obtain them at the Help Desk on the main floor of 库克图书馆.

HT94 is sponsored 而且 organized by the Undocumented Migration Project, a nonprofit research/art/education/media collective, directed by anthropologist Jason De León, who held a special meet 而且 greet on campus on Nov. 19.

cq9 was supposed to host the exhibit in fall 2020, but because of the COVID-19 p而且emic, the opening date was pushed back a year.

According to Joyce Garczynski, assistant university librarian for development & 沟通, the library wanted to host HT94 because it’s a compelling 而且 interactive way for the campus to learn about issues surrounding migration.

“你.S./墨西哥边境 may seem like it’s so far away from Towson, but this giant map with thous而且s of 脚趾标签 makes migration proximate,” Garczynski says. “这鼓励 our community to learn more about the people behind the migration data 而且 how the challenges of migration, that many in our community face, impact all of us.”

The library is also bringing the exhibit to the classroom. Over the fall term, Garczynski, Avelino 而且 other employees have partnered with professors to host special classes dedicated to filling out 脚趾标签 而且 learning the meaning behind the exhibit.

“It’s been very inspiring to see the amount of people who are willing to talk about their experiences,” Avelino says. “This is a subject that is definitely hard to speak about, but there are people who are willing to tell their stories 而且 relive their trauma, just to disseminate this information that can sometimes be misconstrued.”

Garczynski is quick to credit the junior for all the hard work she’s put in.

“This exhibit wouldn’t be a reality at cq9 without Sydney,” Garczynski says. ”她了 the initiative to reach out to faculty to encourage them to schedule toe tag-filling 事件及其类. She transformed a toe tag-filling program into a meaningful activity that encouraged students to connect with one another.

“She has been an invaluable leader 而且 champion for Hostile Terrain 94.”