Residents of Letts Hall’s sixth floor will have to pay for nearly $5,000 worth of vandalism if Housing and Dining Programs officials don’t find the party responsible by the end of March.
The Letts Hall Sky Lounge on the sixth floor suffered about $4,860 in damage last semester, including the cost of labor and materials, according to Jennifer Baron, the resident director of Letts, Clark and Roper Halls. The residents would have to pay about $50 each.
Resident assistants found a circle of white paint on the floor, which damaged the carpet and nearby furniture, Baron said. RA’s discovered the damage Dec. 15 when they were checking the building before closing it for winter break.
Vandalism also occurred in the Centennial 6 study lounge Feb. 4.
The table in the study lounge had been turned upside down and glued to the floor, ripping up carpet. Chairs were also taken from the study lounge. A couch was also taken from the Centennial lounge.
Centennial Hall Resident Director Leah Kreimer said there are no cost estimates yet. However, students will have to pay for the floor tiles, cleaning costs of the table and the chairs, if they are not found.
Housing and Dining Programs officials aren’t sure if there’s a link between the two incidents.
“[It’s] something we are trying to consider in making a connection between the two of them,” Baron said. “We’re not sure if they were separate situations. It was also involving paint and similar in nature, so there could be a comparison.”
If no one comes forward or finds out who vandalized the lounge, the floors will be charged as a whole, according to the Housing and Dining Programs License Agreement.
“All resident students served by the common area will be assessed for such repair and/or damage costs,” the agreement says.
Baron said she will try and give students until the end of March to see if anyone comes forward with information.
Groups outside of South side, such as fraternities and sororities, are able to reserve space for meetings in the Sky Lounge. But organizations can’t reserve the space during finals time, when the Sky Lounge incident occurred, according to Baron.
Some students argue that Letts 6 residents should not be held exclusively responsible, since outside groups also use the space.
“To have just the sixth floor of Letts pay for this vandalism seems like ... I don’t know if double standard is the right word, but it seems unfair to me to have that happen because it is a space that’s used by multiple different groups,” said Sarah Casey, a Letts 6 resident and a freshman in the School of International Service.
Preventing future vandalism
Sixth floor Letts residents said, in the future, students living on that floor should be warned of charges related to Sky Lounge vandalism.
“Even though people weren’t signed up for that room, it doesn’t mean that people from other areas [of the building] weren’t using that room,” said Thomas Montesano, a Letts 6 resident and a freshman in the School of Public Affairs.
Centennial 6 residents were told that they should be more vigilant to prevent vandalism at a recent floor meeting.
Rachel Mandelbaum, a Centennial 6 resident and sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and SIS, said she sees a lot of vandalism on the floor.
“People have drawn all over the walls,” Mandelbaum said. “In our lounge, people have stolen the couch and various chairs.”
John Hamblett, a Centennial 6 resident and sophomore in SPA said it’s not the residents’ responsibility to keep an eye out.
“I think it’s ridiculous that when we were having the meeting we were all supposed to be watching this,” Hamblett said. “I didn’t sign anything that said that I had to be patrolling my floor.”
lgiangreco@theeagleonline.com
