2025 Theme: Night at the Library
“Light to the Beholder of Knowledge”
Arlo Castilan
Digital Illustration
The Coates Library 2025 Sticker
Artist Statement:
The theme of my drawing is “Knowledge is Power,” though not simply in the cheesy way the media has twisted that statement. Knowledge is not just powerful enough to get you through finals week, but it also takes power (mostly discipline, really) to work towards that position in the first place. Every semester I see students burn themselves out by relentlessly beating themselves up over bad grades, spending countless hours in the library up until it closes trying to get that last problem right. I’m guilty of this myself, but I’ve realized that while it is good to strive for success, grades don’t fully express the weight of a person’s education. Some people are bad test takers, or essay writers, or don’t speak up in class, but those are not the limits of their understanding. I’ve found peace in accepting that I will sometimes fail, and I think it’s especially powerful to not just know this, but recognize it in yourself.
I wanted to include a tiger in my design, representative of not just LeeRoy but every Trinity student that has gone through the same kind of hardships I have. The light behind the tiger’s head represents the fulfillment of not just academic success, but finding success in the journey of its pursuit. This is still, of course, a “Night at the Library,” which I originally interpreted as staying up to study. In its entirety, I suppose you could read the drawing as a student, after a long night of studying, coming to terms with their academic progression, and as a result, becoming more motivated to learn for the sake of it instead of being driven by anxiety.
What a privilege it is to be in university–to choose to struggle for the sake of knowledge.