{"id":15006,"date":"2018-08-09T17:43:41","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T17:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golive.clarku.edu\/news\/2018\/08\/09\/iconic-clark-pea-pod-is-revived-for-the-next-generation-of-clarkies\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T14:09:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T18:09:41","slug":"the-iconic-clark-pea-pod-is-revived-for-the-next-generation-of-clarkies","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2018\/08\/09\/the-iconic-clark-pea-pod-is-revived-for-the-next-generation-of-clarkies\/","title":{"rendered":"Iconic Clark pea pod is revived for the next generation of Clarkies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

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On a hot August Day 34 years ago, designer Keith Carville and photographer Chuck Kidd drove to a vegetable farm in Hubbardston, Mass., painted some peas, and snapped a picture. The resulting poster of vibrantly colored peas nestled inside a pod, paired with the tagline, \u201cClark University: Categorizing people isn\u2019t something you can do here,\u201d resonated with students and alumni, who appreciated the message that Clark is a community of individuals \u2014 all are different, and all are welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pea pod poster quickly began appearing in dorm rooms across campus, and found its way onto the office walls of high school guidance counselors. The meaning behind the multi-colored fruit (yes, peas are fruit) struck such a deep chord that the poster remains displayed on some of those same walls, many years after the pea pod was decommissioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe poster may be old and tattered, but the guidance counselors don\u2019t want to replace it,\u201d says Terry Malone \u201901, MSPC \u201909, director of admissions at Clark. \u201cThey understand the importance of the message, and their students do, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s another message to make many Clarkies happy: The pea pod is back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mary_peapod\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The memorable image has been refreshed and reintroduced as the centerpiece for the University\u2019s admissions materials with the fresh tagline, \u201cYou Belong.\u201d High-schoolers attending college fairs are seeing the pea pod at Clark stations, and prospective students have already received a series of informational postcards featuring current Clark students posing with the new poster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As word has gotten out, Clark alumni, particularly those from the \u201980s and \u201990s, have welcomed back the pea pod like an old friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still one of my favorite things about Clark,\u201d says Tad Overbaugh \u201993. \u201cAfter dealing with all the cliques in high school, this was really refreshing. It set the groundwork of respect for all the different kinds of people you might come across here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Cate Whitfield \u201992, the pea pod\u2019s return reinforces Clark as a place \u201cfree from judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s so important, especially for young adults on their own for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an essay published by Clark some years ago, Hank Fradella \u201990 captured why the pea pod endures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was hard to categorize in high school, as I didn\u2019t really fit the mold of being a \u2018jock,\u2019 or a \u2018prep,\u2019 or drama\/music \u2018geek\u2019 \u2014 even though I was a little of all of them,\u201d Fradella wrote. \u201cThe pea pod poster was not propaganda. It was truth. Nearly everyone I knew at Clark \u2018fit in\u2019 because there weren\u2019t any predefined molds to which we had to adhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n