Vandalism in Garver Leads to Frustration
Grace Denison
Garver Hall has experienced a significant amount of vandalism this school year—allegedly by students who are living in the building.
The damages that resulted from the vandalism include carvings in the paint along the walls as well as many broken ceiling tiles.
While there has been no proof of who committed the crimes, the Oak Leaves has learned that a $75 fine was issued to the boys of G2 who had used their IDs during the days of Jan. 3-Jan. 28.
Safety is handling this situation diligently. “Historically, fines have been assessed to entire floors or halls when damage to property happens,” said Tina Edwards, the director of University Safety.” Terms and conditions of residence hall occupancy agreement reads, ‘Damages to public areas will be prorated to those responsible or to residents of a hall or a specific area of a hall.’
“Naturally,” Edwards continued, “it hurts when we have people in our community who disrespect one another or university property. As an educational institution, our goal is always to have students learn and grow from their experiences. We hope that is the case in this instance.”
The boys who live on the second floor of Garver are unhappy with the situation. “I personally do not believe that we should be fined,” said first year Tony Pirri. “None of us really did it. I feel like they just ultimately pinned it on us in the very beginning.”
Pirri also talked about how he wished Safety would handle the situation. “I don’t disagree with the fining, but fining all of us and those who didn’t do it is not fair,” he said. “If Safety could fine whoever did it without a 100 percent, without a doubt, they should get a fine because I believe that is the right thing to do.”
Justin Brantley agreed. “I am perfectly fine with helping install tiles and whatnot,” he said, “but I don’t want to pay for something I didn’t do.”
Another second floor resident, Ethan Erb, was also unhappy. “None of us would cause damage to this extent in our own homes and it is absurd to try and pin the blame on us when there are multiple other floors of people that could be just as guilty,” he said. “We were told that if we cannot or do not pay these fines, we could be denied permission to enroll next semester.”
G2 resident Garrett Lewis feels the same way. “I feel like they should have other tactics or at least look at the cameras or something to get a better idea then to just kinda force people to point fingers,” he said.
Eli Hughes was surprised. “I was told I was getting fined within ten minutes of me getting there,” he said. Hughes had just returned to campus from being at home.
Manchester University’s Office of Student Experience does not comment on specific sanctions students have received, regardless of the situation.