Sidewalk messages are an easy way students relay information to one another.

“I wrote messages on the ground last year because I wanted to form a big study group,” said junior engineering major Roy Reid.

The Student Involvement and Leadership Development Office is the policy-maker for chalking on campus.

“Policies are geared toward organizations,” said SILD reservationist Diane Nece.

The organizations allowed to chalk are Student Association-approved organizations only, she said.

Only washable, non-toxic chalk can be used. Permanent materials such as paints, markers and crayons are not permitted.

Chalking is not allowed on university buildings, stairs, decorative bricks, walls, ledges or any area not identified as a sidewalk.

If these basic guidelines are not met, the organization may lose its chalking privileges, Nece said.

The most common messages written on the sidewalks pertain to residential voting, area voting and SA-related messages, Nece said.

Some students, such as junior business major Melvin Thompson, think the most effective sidewalk messages are those of study groups and organizations.

If students are interested in chalking messages, they can visit www.sa.niu.edu or go to the SILD office in the Campus Life Building, Suite 150.