Chalk It Up

Supplies of Bad Chalk Cause a Campus-wide Problem

by Jeff Cobble

Des Moines, Iowa (Feb. 10, 1997)--Drake University is in the midst of a chalk crisis. The quality of chalk being used is not what it should be.

Paul Johnson, assistant vice president, physical plant/auxiliary services, said there are a few different brands of chalk being used on campus. One brand works well, but is consistently broken into pieces before the boxes are even opened. In fact, as much as two-thirds of each box may be shattered before removal of the chalk can take place. Other companies manufacture harder chalk that is not so easily broken, but has been nigh impossible to erase without washing the board.

"It's a minor problem, but in some respects it's a big problem," Johnson said. The main supplier - based in Mexico - has been merging with other companies. Perhaps Drake has been getting bad batches or improperly shipped materials, but the cause is still not entirely clear. Johnson added that returning all the broken chalk for refunds is a tedious task. He also noted that there are not a great deal of chalk manufacturers out there, making this particular item more difficult to improve.

"We have been through this in the past, but we haven't had any acceptable solutions," Johnson said, "The problem surfaces every two years or so." Drake has tried switching brands before but to no avail. The problem persists.

Johnson has been looking in to possible solutions, including checking to see what Iowa State University has been doing. So far he has not gotten any reports back.

One alternative being looked at is a possible switch to white boards. Felt tip markers can be used with white boards, and will erase with ease. However, Johnson said the white boards can be difficult to see and are only effective in smaller classrooms. The large lecture halls need to be attended to as well. "Some people don't notice, and they don't have a problem with it," Johnson said, "It's really more of a problem for the custodial staff."

The custodians are the people assigned to clean the chalk boards, and that could be quite a hassle, depending on which brand of chalk is used. One facility maintainer at Drake said, "We only have a problem if they use colored chalk or if they press real hard. The only way to get it off is with a complete washing."

A complete washing involves spraying the boards with a chemical cleaner, wiping it off, and letting it dry. Then erasers are used to go back over the boards as a treatment method.

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