The city may soon say goodbye to a piece of local graffiti artwork. Tampa City Hall plans to sandblast a portion of the wall along the Hillsborough River in order to remove the graffiti it contains. For many, this comes as an outrage: the graffiti is primarily made up of “tags” painted by crew teams—both those native to Tampa and those who have visited to train over the years. Generally, the high school and collegiate crew teams will “tag” the wall with the logo and motto of their school.

For decades, these tags have adorned the walls along the Hillsborough River. Until recently, the graffiti was deemed harmless and tolerated. Now, the tags must be removed because of the city’s plans to expand the Riverwalk as a part of the Lights on Tampa project. Local government hopes to create a more upscale environment along this span of the river, installing new lighting and public art, according to the Tampa Bay Times. They feel the crew teams’ tags, which they refer to as “defacement,” will detract from the ambiance they hope to create.

Both City Administrator of Economic Opportunity Bob McDonaugh and Councilwoman Lisa Montelione have emphasized one concern in particular about certain portions of the graffiti which contain profanity. However, Councilman Frank Reddick pointed out that there have not been any complaints about the graffiti—crew related or profane—even during the Republican National Convention in 2012, when Tampa was in the media spotlight.

Many, including former and current rowers from Berkeley and other schools alike, have voiced their dissent. Francis Migliore, a Berkeley alumnus who graduated in 2013, rowed for four years while at Berkeley in addition to rowing last year at Colgate University. “For a lot of crew teams, tagging their school’s logo on the sea wall is a point of pride and a tradition. The walls along the river are a logical place to tag: they’re in a prominent location and close enough to where the rowers dock and stay when they visit,” he explained. “Since it’s a wall on the river, it isn’t as if they had painted on the side of a historic building.

Junior Kimberly Dil, who has been rowing for two years, also opposes the removal of the tags saying that they “add to the rowing spirit in the area” and are “a way for schools to show school spirit.” She added, “It’s exciting for high schoolers to know that […] prestigious colleges use the same water to row on.” However, senior Jordan Lowrey, who has been rowing since her freshman year, can sympathize with both sides of the discussion. “It’s sad to think that they’re getting rid of all of the art along the river. I know that I personally love looking at the different tags every day, but I also kind of understand why they would want to get rid of it.”

The removal of the tags is opposed by many who cite the graffiti as a symbol of Tampa’s long history of rowing and, further, as a unique artistic mark that has been consistently left for decades, not only by Tampa rowers but by the many who have visited the city to train. The city’s rowing heritage has been further cemented by the Roosevelt Regatta, which has been held here annually since 2012 and which draws large crowds, local businesses, and even mayoral attendance to view the rowing races. “Rowing is one of those odd, but cool aspects of Tampa’s culture,” said Migliore. “The traditions of the teams that come here [to train] and the tags on that wall are a small but noticeable part of Tampa’s character. It’s a living tradition, meant to be left intact.”

If you would like to voice your opinion on the removal of the tags, the public will be able to share their comments on Thursday, August 21st at Tampa City Hall at 5 p.m.. Alternatively, you can share your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter using #tamparowingart.

“To unnecessarily destroy this piece of city culture would be very shortsighted,” Said Migliore.