Clinton Boisvert's assignment for his Foundation Sculpture class, according to the police, was to situate art in a specific place, not to create alarm in the subway system.

But Mr. Boisvert, a college student at the School of Visual Arts, succeeded in the latter, if not the former, last week when he taped 37 black cardboard boxes inscribed with the word "Fear" in the Union Square subway station, according to investigators.

After seeing the disruption his project had caused, Mr. Boisvert contacted a lawyer. And yesterday morning, he surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney's office, which intends to prosecute him on a charge of reckless endangerment, a spokeswoman said.

"The kid is clueless, basically," a police official said. "He did not seem to know the ramifications his art project would have."

{the nerve! using fear to advance his own agenda. how dare he! why that's despicable, artificially creating a climate of fear just to make yourself important. he should be horsewhipped!
or impeached.}