Letter which threatened floor with $2000 bill said to be hoax

Students fearing that they would have to pay $2000 to repair vandals' damage to their floor said they were relieved yesterday when they were told the letter threatening the charge was a hoax. The letter, attributed to Resident Advisor Evan Berman, was circulated on the 23rd floor of High Rise East Monday night. Berman and Head Resident Mark Jackson said neither they nor West Campus had anything to do with the letter and do not know who drafted it. "Because it wasn't written on West Campus letterhead, it was clear it wasn't a West Campus letter," Jackson said last night. The letter said the residents would have to foot the bill for clean-up and labor costs if the guilty party did not come forward. Last Sunday morning, vandals sprayed fire-retardant dust from four floor fire extinguishers, covering the halls' floors, walls and ceiling and clogging smoke detectors. Physical Plant workers were called in over the next two days to scrub all hallway surfaces and clear the smoke detectors. Residential Maintenance Director Lynn Horner said Monday that clean-up costs could run between $800 and $1000. Jackson and Berman said last night that 23rd floor residents would probably not be required to pay for the cleaning costs. Jackson said he went around to all of the 23rd floor rooms last night in order to clear up the mix-up. Jackson said there are no suspects, adding that investigation is continuing. Berman said last night that he thinks a student on the floor wrote the letter. College Junior Ann Gallaher, a floor resident, said last night that she and her roommate were upset when they received the letter because they didn't think they should be forced to pay for damages because they do not think a floor resident is responsible. "We were mad because we didn't think it would be right if we were charged," Gallaher said. "We don't live on a community floor. There's no reason for them to charge us."

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