As students enter the dorms for the first time and start living on their own, some seem to feel that university housing rules don't apply to them. The residence hall handbook is often one of the first items to be thrown away or shoved into a desk drawer at which point the fun begins. Apparently this 70-page rulebook just isn't valuable for anything except the coupons at the end.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 28 two unidentified males allegedly set off Witte's sprinkler system, possibly with a lighter. As a result Tower A had to be evacuated and 25 residents inhabiting the fifth and sixth floors were forced to spend their first night sleeping in Gordon Commons.
Water damage was extensive on the fifth and sixth floors, and there was minimal damage on the second, third and forth floors. Luckily there was minimal damage to the students' belongings (not covered by the university), but the building damage cost housing $5,000. The water also damaged the elevator, which was not repaired until 10 a.m. the next morning, forcing students moving in that morning to carry their belongings up the stairs.
According to Earl Reiner Jr., the Physical Facilities program assistant, vandalism in the undergraduate dorms last school year cost University Housing $31,688. With the recent vandalism at Witte costing $5,000 prior to the start of school we can only guess how high the costs will be this year.
Most residents are not responsible for vandalism, but are being forced to pay for it in the form of increases in housing costs because the perpetrators are never apprehended and University Housing needs to recover the money. Furthermore housing does not cover vandalism to personal property so residents must either rely on their parents' homeowner's insurance or replace it themselves. It is ridiculous that residents are being forced to absorb these costs.
Those responsible for the Witte vandalism deserve severe punishment from both the university and the legal system. The vandals should be forced to make reparations in the form of $5,000 to University Housing and replace any resident's belongings that were damaged. They should also be kicked out of Witte.
This act should have legal repercussions as well. At the minimum those responsible should be cited by the University Police for violating UW safety codes for vandalism ($243) and the fire safety codes for equipment tampering ($305) and activating a false alarm ($367). Once the investigation is concluded, they could decide to press criminal charges rather than the citations that could include possible misdemeanor or felony charges and jail time.
It is important that those responsible are punished to the fullest extent because housing residents need to realize that vandalism will not be tolerated. Although nobody was injured in this incident, a fire could have been started in the process of setting off the heat-activated sprinkler system and the water from the sprinkler, system put residents at risk of slipping on the floors during the building evacuation. Many people were impacted by this incident, making it crucial that we hold those responsible accountable for their actions so that people will be more hesitant to vandalize student and university property.
Since residence halls are such large communities the actions of a few people can impact many people. Living in a residence hall is a privilege and those who cannot act maturely should not be allowed to live there. Residents are paying to live in a community in which they expect to feel safe and by removing those who don't adhere to the rules we will make the community better for everyone.
opinion@dailycardinal.com.
