Vandalism continues to plague Castleton campus
In lieu of the most recent incidences of vandalism on campus, the Public Safety office and Dennis Proulx, the dean of students, have sent out an email as a step toward apprehending those who might be held accountable.”It’s kind of the same story-most things that have been classified recently as vandalism are again minor acts of usually drunken behavior. No matter what an example is though, it must be classified, paid for and cleaned up. Sometimes accidents happen when people are just trying to have fun,” says Proulx, “That doesn’t make it okay, but it definitely comes from a different mentality.”
Some examples of classified vandalism that aren’t necessarily malicious are soup on fire extinguishers, vomit in the hallway or wall damage, he said.
Recently reported or discovered acts of vandalism on campus have been especially prevalent in Castleton Hall and, as indicated by the email sent out on Nov. 9, vehicular damage.
“The only real pattern, if you could really call it that, is the damage and breaking into of cars in the parking lots,” Proulx said.
Besides the email sent out to students asking for their assistance in catching those who might responsible, the campus has instituted a confidential tip line.
“It’s a way that people can act when they see things happening,” says Public Safety director Bob Godlewski, “So far we’ve had two tips and both are under investigation.”
Don’t be mistaken, the tip line isn’t anonymous, but it does provide for a confidential place for students to come forward with what they have seen.
Currently, there are sixteen cameras on campus that hold a ten to twelve-day archive.
“The only issue is,” Godlewski explains, “that we don’t always get reports the day of incidences. This is especially true in the case of car vandalism. If we don’t know what time something occurred, we don’t necessarily know what we’re looking for, and it can take 72 hours to review the camera archives and find any shred of evidence.”
Proulx also said that making the college safer is a goal of his.
“We’ve continued to try and make this campus safer. Over the years we’ve made it a priority to make the darker areas more light around campus and to make sure we have resources, like this new tip line, so that everyone can be more active in the safety of the campus,” explains Proulx.