AU sociology class visualizes number of homicide cases in sidewalk chalk display

By Rakiyah Lenon | Editor in chief

On Aug. 31, students drew 21,570 tally marks on the sidewalks of Allgood Hall as part of a class activity to represent the FBI’s number of reported homicides within the U.S. during 2020.

Kim Davies, dean of Pamplin College and professor of sociology, instructs the SOCI 3187 class which focuses on the sociology of murder. Davies said she often does projects likes these to help students understand the issue of murder beyond statistics and numbers.

“We use that year [2020] because that’s the most complete data the FBI has,” said Davies. “I make the point that we’re way higher in the United States than a lot of other developed countries.”

Davies said homicide not only effects victims, but damages family and loved ones involved on both sides of the situation. 

“Every single one of them represent a victim,” she said, speaking of the tally marks. “They probably have moms, sisters, brothers, family members.”

“We don’t always think about that, but the offender’s family is usually blown away by this too,” she added.

In assigning this project to her students, Davies said she hope students learn how to bring awareness different issues they individually care about.

“This brings something to it more than just talking,” she said. “I think we should be aware of how much violence there is.”

Star Groves, a senior majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology, said that seeing the amount of space the tally marks filled allowed her to notice just how big of an issue murder could be.

“This project helps you take into perspective just how many people that is,” she said.

Groves said the activity also brings into discussion the fact that homicide can take on many forms. 

“Each tally is a life that we lose,” she said. “I hope that people will also start not taking life for granted from this.”

Alex Chriswell, a junior majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology, said the project was an interesting way to put the topic in a different perspective.

“I thought it was a really interesting idea to get people’s attention,” she said.

Chriswell added the chalked tally marks are just a small figure showing what occurs to victims.

Aside from visually displaying the immense total of lives lost, Davies said projects like these also helps students to interact with one another and create memorable experiences.

“They’re not going to remember everything they learn from college because facts change,” she said. “But they’re going to remember, ‘man, this made an impact on me’.”

Photos from the event can be found in the slideshow below. (photos by Rakiyah Lenon)

Contact Rakiyah Lenon at rlenon@augusta.edu.