Saving Louis the Space Otter: The Remarkable Origins of @Charger_Chalk_Draws
Written by Jenny Wiland
Like every great story, this one starts in the middle. I’m sitting at a booth in the Old Snack Bar, drumming my fingers on the table, and glancing at my notes as I prepare to meet with someone. Coming into the interview, I don’t actually know who this person is, what this person looks like, or even whether this person is a student. All I know is that this person runs the Instagram page @charger_chalk_draws, which features pictures of drawings that students leave on chalkboards all around campus. I’ve seen plenty of similar drawings myself, but for someone to put in the work to share students’ artwork with the world—I find the idea both heartwarming and intriguing. So I’ve messaged this person to set up an interview, and now I wait for the time to arrive.
A little before noon, a young man with a beanie and a leather jacket sits down in the booth across from me. “Are you Jenny Wiland?” he asks. When I confirm that I’m the person he’s meeting, he smiles warmly, shakes my hand, and introduces himself as Ryan Littley. Then, he shares the story of how he started his page.
Ryan began working as a custodian for Hillsdale College about two years before our meeting. As part of his training, he was told to erase anything on a chalkboard unless it had “save” or “do not erase” written next to it. Early on, he stumbled upon beautiful works of art that students would leave on the chalkboards, and as he erased them, he’d think, “Man, it’s a shame that more people can’t see these drawings that the students are doing.”
In October of 2019, Ryan found a drawing titled “Louis the Space Otter” that was too stunning not to share. So he decided, “All right. I’ll take a picture of this, and I’m going to make an account, and that way, I can share the students’ artwork.” With that thought, @charger_chalk_draws was born, its first post featuring an otter wearing an astronaut’s helmet and floating in a sea of stars.
Each piece of artwork has its own story—stories Ryan doesn’t always know, but still faithfully documents. “There are a lot of inside stories to the drawings, where the students themselves know what the drawings are about, but I’m totally clueless. But I still try to find the beauty and appreciation for them just the same.” For instance, one “In Memoriam” drawing features gravestones with everything the students have lost in the past few years, from waiverless Mock Rock competitions to 24-hour service McDonalds. Another drawing depicts a portrait of President Larry Arnn next to the one-word quote “Why?”—a question he is excellent at asking.
In addition to the inside jokes, these drawings express different facets of the students’ personalities. “I get a lot of different vibes off the drawings,” Ryan says. “I find the cute dog ones, and think that person probably has a very outgoing personality. Then I’ll see some more mature drawings, where that person’s maybe on a more serious level in their life right now. And then I see the crazy, the creative, abstract drawings—that person’s probably got a lot going on, and they just need to vent, to put it on the chalkboard.”
Even as these drawings display the thoughts and feelings of individuals, they also tell the greater story of the campus as a whole. One drawing features a toucan with the words “You can… and you’re almost home!” Ryan sees the same positivity as he passes by students around campus. “I’ve seen them excited for college, I’ve seen them worried about classes, I’ve seen them consoling each other in the classrooms, saying, ‘Hey, it’s gonna be good, you’re gonna make it through this.’ I like the encouragement that the other students are giving the newer students this year.”
The stories of this campus and its students are reflected in artwork that appears on the mundane surfaces of chalkboards all around campus. From intricate portraits to quick, cartoony doodles, every piece says something special about Hillsdale College and the people who live and learn here. And as this story stretches into the future, Ryan will continue to post the drawings he finds, opening up the world of Hillsdale to its own inhabitants. As this thought sinks in, I feel honored to talk with the man who has taken it upon himself to collect and share these drawings. I smile and thank him for his time, and as we prepare to go back to our respective lives as student and custodian, he assures me, “I’ll be here Sunday night, ready to start the day, and hopefully we’ll see some more chalk drawings.”
Jenny Wiland, ’23, plans to study psychology and graphic design. She loves her cat, dark chocolate, and writing stories, especially science fiction and fantasy.
Published in April 2021