Living Davidson Design a day in Davidson and I’ll tell you where you should do all the work you’ve been procrastinating.

We’re hitting the point in the semester where planners are no longer being written in, Google Calendars are becoming overcrowded, and every professor seems to think it’s time to show their true colors of being the hardest graders known to man. For the very small price of designing your perfect day in Davidson, I’ll help you with the first step towards regaining control of your life and tell you where you should settle in for a couple hours to finally get some things checked off your to-do list.

What are you doing first thing in the morning?

A- Breakfast! It’s the most important meal of the day for a reason, people.

B - Scroll on your phone for two hours just to realize you did not have that sort of time to waste.

C - Going to spend some time outside in the few hours of sunlight a day.

D - Hitting the gym (the author of this quiz admires you, but wouldn’t want to be you.)

Check Your Answers Below To See What You Got!

Mostly A’s: The Courtyard between Watson and Dana - This is a very nice place to do your work, and I know you deserve it. Enjoy the couple warm days of false Spring before Winter drags us back in.

Mostly C’s: Libs - Now, I know I’m telling you to go to libs, but you need to ACTUALLY DO WORK there, not just talk to the friends that you came with. I’m watching you.

It’s time to eat! Where to?

A - The Soda Shop is a classic.

B - Is DoorDash an option?

C - You will brave Pickled Peach and the undeniable fact that everyone you’ve ever met will somehow also be there.

D - Commons, if only for the post-meal dessert (or possibly pre-meal…) Pick some people to run into that you really would prefer not to see.

A - A tour group that is all looking at you like you’re a zoo animal.

B - The middle school biker gang.

C - The entire Davidson Men’s Basketball team. This could also be a group you did want to run into, depending on who you are.

D - The professor for the class you haven’t been to for a bit….awkward.

Mostly B’s: Wall - You seem like you really need to lock in. It’s probably best for you to find a study room somewhere in the back and hog it for the foreseeable future.

Mostly D’s: Chambers - Find some random room that’s very quiet and a bit creepy. It’ll be good motivation for you to finish as fast as possible so you can leave again!

Waste the rest of your day on.

A - People watching in the sculpture garden.

B - Honestly. Rotting in bed. It IS a fun activity, you promise!

C - Having philosophical conversations with friends that make you question your own existence. It’s really what college is for, after all.

D - Attempting to bake something. You can’t guarantee success, but isn’t it really the journey that matters?

See You All in Two Weeks :)

Secret Brick Painter Revealed

SAHANA: Secret Brick Painter, would you like to introduce yourself?

SECRET BRICK PAINTER: I’m Mallory Kavanaugh. I’m a freshman here at Davidson. I’m going to double major, hopefully in art history and political science, and my pronouns are she/her.

SAHANA: I noticed your brick painting when I was walking by Commons and it made my whole day. What gave you the inspiration to paint on campus?

MALLORY: Well, I kind of thought it would be funny, but also, I just think there needs to be more public art overall, like on campus. I’m doing mostly famous paintings right now.

SAHANA: That’s amazing. When did you get into art?

MALLORY: I’ve been painting seriously since maybe my freshman year of high school. But I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember.

SAHANA: I would’ve thought you’d been painting all your life. Your pieces are stunning. How many of these paintings have you done and how much time did they take?

MALLORY: The first one that I put out, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, - that one got stolen, actually. It only took me an hour and 30 minutes. I’ve done that painting before, so I Knew what the process was like to paint it.

SAHANA: Do you plan on doing a lot more of those around campus?

MALLORY: I think so, probably in the same spot just because that’s where most of the loose bricks are. Also it’ll be a little bit more noticeable, rather than people just coming up on one or two.

SAHANA: That makes sense. Has art influenced other areas or areas of your life?

MALLORY: I think on a daily basis I notice things a bit more than someone who’s not into art. I might look at something and think, “Wow, that would make a really gorgeous painting,” or, I don’t know, my knowledge about colors comes in handy sometimes.

SAHANA: Seeing your brick made me reflect on how the smallest things can make us happy. Does art have that kind of power over you? To brighten your mood?

SAHANA ATHREYA ‘25 (SHE/HER)

We Are Wildcats is a human-interest column that aims to share the extraordinary within the ordinary at Davidson College and to showcase the inspiring things that make each and every Wildcat unique. If you wish to be featured or know someone whose story needs to be heard, please feel free to contact saathreya@davidson.edu! Stay tuned for future stories! This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

From door stoppers to room decor, loose bricks have served many purposes for Davidson students. On the 11th of February, a brick was taken from outside Commons and was returned the next day with the famous Girl with the Pearl Earring painted on its surface. The Mona Lisa and the Birth of Venus followed soon after. For days, the Brick Painter’s identity remained a secret. Now, she has finally been discovered and is ready to receive her praises.

(Check out the full profile to the right).

MALLORY: Oh, for sure. In addition to painting and my more serious stuff, I do a lot more cartoonish pieces. Not comics necessarily, but art that explains some of my experiences; I draw to make sense of things. Sometimes I write down things that my friends have said that have made me giggle or something that I’m mad at that day and then draw it.

SAHANA: Do you also think art has the power for social change?

MALLORY: Oh, yeah, definitely. In the future, I want to incorporate more social justice themes into my artwork because I also study politics, and there have been things that have happened that have made me really passionate, like the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That was something that made me very upset. And I think I’d definitely like to explore that because that’s something very personal to me.