With nearly 1,300 students living on campus, many of them just freshman or sophomores, vandalism in the residence halls is likely to occur. Mesa State’s Housing Department has noticed an increase in the amount of vandalism that has occurred recently within the halls, but especially in the traditional halls.

Traditional halls like Rait, Pinon and Tolman offer community living where the bathroom and laundry rooms are down the halls from residents’ bedrooms. In these traditional halls students get to know one another after having to share a bathroom with them for several months.

Unfortunately, it is the traditional halls that have seen much of the damage caused by vandalism in the past few weeks. Damage has been done to ceiling tiles, that has left fist sized holes in the ceiling and crumbling white chunks all over the ground.

Exit signs that point the way out of the buildings have also been ripped down or smashed. In the Student Housing Handbook there is a list of six policies, often referred to as the Big Six. The policy states that breaking any of these six policies could, “terminate your Housing and Dining Contract, if violated even once.” The last of the Big Six is Fire Safety: “Tampering with fire safety equipment, e.g. emergency exit signs.” The people who are found to be responsible for this damage may have to face the termination of their Housing Contracts.

Even some of the stairwell doors have been ripped off the hinges causing damaged to the door and frame of these halls. Damage has been estimated at nearly $600 every time the door is ripped off.

Spencer Crosby is a freshman English education major that lives in Rait hall. “I think that this (vandalism) is and absolute atrocity,” she said. Crosby also serves on Rait’s Residence Hall Council and is one of the leaders in the building. “It is the worst form of disrespect to see our building being torn down from the inside out.”

Crosby has helped out with the annual Trick-or-Treat-Street event put on by residence halls around campus. The event is designed to give community members a safe place to take their children on Halloween. It also serves as a contest between buildings. This last October, Rait hall won. “We have tried to give our building a lot of love,” Crosby said. “It’s just awful when we are trying to uplift our hall to see others disrespect it in this way.”

Housing Director Chip Thomas was not available for comment, but plans are in the works amongst the Residence Life Staffs to try to prevent this vandalism from happening. Resident Directors and Resident Assistants are going to be on the look out to identify the people responsible.

Dana Nunn would like to encourage students to keep their eyes open. “If you see something suspicious let someone know, even if you have to call the Grand Junction Police Department’s non-emergency number.” That number is 970-242-6707.

cmartine@mesastate.edu