“Keep your chalk off our walk!”; Chalker stirs student protest

by LEE SPICKARD

Contributing Writer

Students returning to campus this year took notice of chalk inscriptions covering sidewalks in Fredericksburg. Unlike messages in the past encouraging students on their walks to class or promoting student government races, most of the messages were repetitions of “Pro-Life, Anti-Flock,” “Abortion is Murder,” or “Christ is King”. These messages have drawn responses from University of Mary Washington students as the anonymous chalker has focused on College Avenue.

The individual known on Instagram as @deflockfxbg, takes credit for the chalking, often posting photos and videos of his chalk inscriptions. His mission, according to the account’s description, is “Pro Life. Anti Flock. People > Politics.” 

The first @deflockfxbg post was published in late August of 2026, with a reel of a chalk message stating, “Hi, Did You Know ABORTION is MURDER? Well now you do.” 

While some students agree with anti-flock camera messages, they find it difficult to reconcile this with the “pro-life” messaging of @deflockfxbg. One freshman, Franklyn Phillips, believes the chalker is intentionally targeting UMW students. 

“He knows his audience. A small liberal arts college with a majority woman population and a large queer community seems like the perfect place to showcase his opinions against them,” said Phillips. 

Other students don’t entirely disagree with the chalker’s methods. 

“If the University says he can’t put his beliefs on the sidewalk, then they can say that for anyone,” said junior environmental science major, Maddie Binkley. “The sidewalk is public property, and as such he has every right to put whatever he wants on it.” 

Under Fredericksburg law, ordinance 19-04, sidewalk chalk is not classified as graffiti, and UMW policies regarding chalk do not apply to College Avenue. “University Police have communicated with the Fredericksburg Police Department regarding the matter,” Chief of Police and Associate Vice President of Public Safety Michael Hall said. “Because the sidewalks along College Avenue are located within the City of Fredericksburg’s right-of-way, the University’s chalking policy does not apply in that area.” 

While @deflockfxbg has had multiple interactions with the police by his own admission, regardless of police and UMW intervention, students have taken matters into their own hands. People have begun attempting to clean up the chalk using water, chalking it out or editing the messages to reflect different values. 

In response to the de-chalking attempts, @deflockfxbg has increased his efforts, posting as many as six times in 24 hours. In a social media post on Sept. 3, he says, “UMW students must not like my art. Half of the message keeps getting erased for some reason. Luckily, I have a lot more chalk.” Since the post, students have seen an increased number of messages on College Avenue, from both UMW students and the chalker. 

On College Avenue, in front of the Cedric Rucker University Center, @deflockfxbg wrote, “Pro-Life, Anti-Flock; sign the petition!” Students responded with chalk messages stating, “Keep your chalk off our walk!” 

UMW students have also taken the initiative to create an opposing account, @prochoice_antiflock. Their mission is to “combat the creep writing ‘pro-life anti-flock’ near the UMW campus.” 

Beyond taking to social media, students have also created a new club on campus, the UMW Chalk it Up club. The club believes in “using sidewalk chalk to spread love,” as well as promoting positivity, inclusivity and awareness. The Chalk it Up club is hosting a “Chalk off Our Walk” event on Sept. 17 to encourage UMW students to “spread love instead of hate on College Avenue.” 

The content of his messages has also recently changed. Phrases including “God made man + woman” and “2 genders” have appeared near campus. The chalker has also erased UMW students’ writings, editing ‘Trans Rights’ to instead say, “Trans are a mental health crisis.” 

On Sept. 14, @deflockfxbg attributed the change in messaging to UMW students. “Gm UMW friends! Everyone already knows FLOCK is bad, but not everyone knows there are only 2 genders… so now my mission has slightly shifted!” 

This change has drawn a response from the LGBTQ+ community on campus as well as allies, who protest these messages via chalk. Some have written “Trans is Beautiful,” “Trans rights are human rights,” and links to the LGBTQ+ suicide prevention nonprofit, the Trevor Project. 

“This campus has such an alive and diverse queer community and I have no doubt they will fight against this ‘chalk’ and nail,” said Phillips. 

As students and @deflockfxbg compete for space on the sidewalk, they’ve also engaged in verbal confrontation. Phillips, who spoke with the chalker, says he entered the conversation asking questions about his reasoning for the messages. 

“Our voices never raised and he did not interrupt me (nor I him); however, he often strayed away from my or another person’s actual question and was often rude,” Phillips said. 

While Phillips’ interaction with @deflockfxbg remained calm, UMW advises students who observe conduct they believe may violate university policy or raise safety concerns to contact University Police.

“As a general practice, we encourage students and other community members to contact University Police if they observe conduct they believe may violate the law or University policy, or if they have concerns about their safety,” Hall said. “Reporting concerns allows the appropriate authorities to review the situation and respond as appropriate.”

While the chalker continues his efforts, UMW students respond in kind.

“As a population of liberal college students, we have a right to be upset about it and fight back. As we have been doing with chalk art of our own,” says Binkley, as students continue responding to the anonymous chalker while writing “Trans Rights,” “Women’s Rights,” “Pro-Choice,” and other similar messages.