GUEST COLUMN: In the End, Vandalism Only Hurts the Students Themselves

Each year, students discard $100,000 of other students' money. They do it as surely as if they had broken into everyone's bank account, withdrawn the money and thrown it in the trash. How do they do it? Through acts of vandalism, which cost, on average, $100,000 of the money that on-campus students pay in rent. Throughout the year, Resident Advisors write incident reports on nearly every imaginable affront to the residential facilities, ranging from chickens stuffed down toilets, to holes punched in walls, to swastikas carved in doors, to feces left in lounges. Some are disgusting, unsightly or annoying; others pointedly hurtful to other students. In the cases of incidents such as shot off fire extinguishers, smashed exit and hallway lights, pulled fire alarms and burned flyers, they are also a threat to the safety of others. All are expensive. Think of all the money that is wasted as painters, housekeepers, masons, plumbers and electricians take time to respond to all these needless incidents. Then think of all the better ways that money could have been used to enhance the residences. One year's vandalism expenditures might have been used to build a residential fitness center, another to create music practice rooms. Think of all the student programs and activities, or improved service, that $100,000 could buy. Vandalism is not only an affront to the pocketbook, but an affront to the spirit as well. It is demoralizing to live in a community that one's neighbors treat with such disrespect. Before even leaving their buildings in the morning on their way to class, students may be forced to pass: a lounge from which most of the furniture has been stolen; a hole in a corridor wall; a stairwell filled with graffiti; and elevators that have been vandalized and are out of service. These daily encounters surely accumulate to create an overall feeling of alienation and apathy towards one's living environment. Residential Maintenance is forced to buy furnishings for the residences that are as vandal-proof as possible. Rather than aiming for style and comfort, we find ourselves testing new surfaces to see how they will look after they are scribbled on or carved with knives. The University must pay more for furnishings that meet these requirements. Increasingly, we are bolting lounge furniture to the floor, and chaining televisions to the walls to prevent them from "walking" into students' rooms. Now I certainly don't expect that buildings housing hundreds of college students will be in as good condition as Buckingham Palace, but I have seen other colleges with residential lounges that are attractively and comfortably decorated and that manage to survive in that state throughout the year. What can be done? When we are able to identify the culprits, we charge them for the cost of repairing the damage (which is generally far more expensive than students would guess) and take further disciplinary action. But because our staff cannot be everywhere at all times, the culprits are rarely caught. I believe that the only way for this problem to be addressed is for students to take a strong stand on behalf of their communities. They need to intervene and demand that those who engage in this behavior stop. They need to be willing to report other students to their Resident Advisor or to the Department of Residential Living (573-DORM). Students' voices are far more effective than administrators' in letting other students know that they do not want their homes trashed and their money wasted. Join together and let other students know that you're fed up with having your money thrown out the window. Demand that you and your Penn home are treated with the respect both deserve.

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