Vandalism can be costly for students in residential halls
Res. hall vandalism is more often found in common areas than rooms.
Published Sept. 29, 2006
Vandalism is a costly way for students to leave a legacy, according to the university's maintenance crews.
Director of Residential Life Frankie Minor said vandalism is common on college campuses and can consist of pulling paper off of a bulletin board to costly property destruction.
"Unfortunately, when we have a lot of students living independently for the first time, they're not always making the best decisions, and they don't always consider the impact of their actions on others," Minor said.
Residential Life area coordinators have reported a number of vandalism issues since the beginning of the year.
"There was a situation where an external card reader was stolen," said Beth Lauchstaedt, who coordinates a group of residence halls. "It's a little unique in that we were able to pull information from the device."
Lauchstaedt also said people stole or punched out several window screens since the beginning of the semester.
Vandalism is not limited to residence halls.
The Campus Facilities Landscaping Services replaced a Weeping European beech tree, which was valued at $1,500, Campus Facilities spokesman Phil Shocklee said.
"Our landscape people found it broken off about four feet off the ground," Shocklee said.
The tree was 25 feet tall and MU police received reports of the damage.
"It's an expense to the landscape department," Shocklee said. "Those funds could have gone elsewhere."
If property is found damaged in a student's room, the student and his or her roommate could be held responsible, but vandalism occurs most often in public spaces, Minor said.
"It's in the lounge, it's a common area restroom," he said. "In these situations, our primary goal is to identify who might be responsible."
In residence halls, or other Residential Life areas, costs for repairing vandalism in common areas are shared by all the residents unless the responsible parties admit to the damage.
"Hopefully, knowing that students may be collectively held responsible may inspire some of them to share what information they have," Minor said.
But Residential Life does not always issue a charge. If a building was unoccupied over break, the students living there would not be charged, Minor said.
In addition, low-cost repairs will not be added to students' bills.
"Students should be concerned even when they're not billed for it because the department pays for the repair or replacement, and the only place we get money is from students," Minor said.
Although police are not generally involved in residence hall vandalism, some damage might have more serious consequences.
"If it involves arson or some more serious offenses, we may report it to the police," Minor said. "As soon as we find out who is responsible, there may be some conduct or even criminal consequences."