BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -
Students from Millsaps College waged war on graffiti in Biloxi on Wednesday.
Armed with scrub brushes and cleaners, they spent the day erasing spray-painted images throughout the city.
The clean-up mission was part of a freshmen orientation.
They sprayed and they scrubbed.
Millsaps College students cleaned graffiti off walls behind Biloxi shopping centers. And from concrete columns beneath the interstate.
"Best thing to do is break up into teams of two and three," instructed Biloxi police officer, Jackie Rhodes.
"I think that every little bit helps. And so every piece of graffiti that you get off of the wall helps make the city look just a little bit better," said Lucy Miller, as she worked a scrub brush on the spray paint tagged concrete column along Division Street.
Miller and her fellow students are part of the "challenge program".
It's the Millsaps College way of orienting incoming freshmen to the school's community service commitment.
"Get the students used to the culture of service at Millsaps. We really make it a priority. And to bond with each other, get to know the opportunities they'll have while they're students," said team leader, Katie Wilson.
"It's fun. I'm enjoying it. Make Biloxi a little prettier place to live. It's nice," said Matthew Wahl.
The successful graffiti removal squad requires plenty of scrub brushes, various cleaners and lots of elbow grease.
"Some of it is gang related. And some of it is just artwork that people try to express where everyone can see it," said Rhodes.
"It's a good opportunity to clean-up Biloxi. Do some good. I didn't quite realize how much graffiti there was. It's a little tough. But it's a good thing we're doing," said John Christman.
As the graffiti comes clean, the students grow closer. Friendships are forming as these freshmen work toward a common goal.
"It's a sense of community that we all think is important and that we're all working together. So, it's going to be a good four years," said Alana Nardini.
They're already made a difference in Biloxi, erasing graffiti and learning firsthand the value of community involvement.
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Millsaps students used scrub brushes to clean graffiti in Biloxi.
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