String of Graffiti Discovered in Swig

By Anayo Awuzie

Last week, graffiti - the tag "666" - was found on the fifth floor stairwell of the Swig dorm building. This was the latest in a string of incidents of vandalism in the dorm.

"The damage caused in Swig was indeed unfortunate, but to be perfectly honest we are moving forward," said Cyphi Resident Director Galina Pappu. "I would really hate to spend any more time or energy dwelling on this incident, when in the grand scheme of things it is small compared to all the great things we are accomplishing here."

Since no one could be linked to the graffiti, the residents were left with the bill.

"I understand it's a community, but it's completely unfair for those who didn't have any involvement in the act," said freshman Ashley Turner, a Swig resident. "If anything, the school should try and figure out who is behind it; and who is to say that this won't happen again and we'll just keep on getting charged."

The university defines "community damage" as damage done to public areas that would not be considered individual dorm damage. This means that residents are all equally responsible for damage in common areas. According to the housing contract, this is "to ensure that it is the responsibility of all residents to be aware of their environment and to hold students who vandalize property accountable."

A "community damage" fee can range anywhere from $75 for defacing a wall to $200 for breaking a table in the common area. Once the amount of damage has been assessed, the students are then collectively charged. While some students might not be thrilled about community damage, it is often hard to identify the responsible party.

Campus Safety reports about 100 occurrences every year.

"We find it everywhere, all kinds, all over campus, all the time," said Director of Campus Safety Services Philip Beltran.  "Sometimes it's carved into a wall, and sometimes the graffiti is gang related or linked to a certain artist that has his special tags reoccur around campus."

Contact Anayo Awuzie at aawuzie@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852