Posted by Rachel Kim
Campus Safety received reports of vandalism the morning of Friday, Oct. 5, regarding on-campus signs.
Approximately 13 parking and stop signs were either partially or completely covered with black and pink spray paint. The signs were primarily in Northwoods Village, but also in other locations including Jonsson Tower, Perimeter Road and North Hall.
There were no specific designs or tags, leaving no kind of an identifier.
"I believe, in these cases, that this is being done by somebody who is living on campus, just by the nature of it and how it's being done," said Director of Campus Safety Dennis Conway.
When any damage to campus property occurs, the repair costs are billed to the individuals involved. If no one can be found responsible, the costs are charged to all students' tuition as a part of the Room and Board Agreement. If an outside guest is visiting a student at the College and is found to be guilty, both the guest and the host are found accountable. According to the Room and Board Agreement, repair of damage to residence hall areas and the apartments is shared equally by each resident if the persons responsible do not come forward.
Though no one has been identified for the damage done this past weekend, it is suspected that students are responsible for the damages.
"In the past, vandalism on campus - whether it's indoors or outdoors - would be from the school community," said Associate Director of Residential Life Don Hastings.
"Whatever the rationale, to me it's just disrespectful. This is your home," said Conway.
Vandalism on campus is not new to the College. For the 2010 to 2011 academic year between $26,000 and $27,000 of damage repair was charged to students. The following 2011 to 2012 academic year, however, saw a large decline and just under $16,000 was charged.
Despite the recent incident, Hastings expects to see the numbers continue to decline.
"We're very hopeful and I think that the community is looking forward to that trend." Still, Hastings stressed the importance of acting to remediate and prevent future incidents.
"The community really needs to take care of itself. Here's where we would rely on the community population, including guys like myself, to actively, directly get involved - in this case, by calling in the tip line," Hastings said.
Students and other community members can report tips by calling the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 518-580-8477.