Vandals Damage Walsh Hall

Since returning from the winter break, the residents of Walsh Hall have met with the Office of Residential Life (ResLife)  to address damages that were incurred in the common areas of Walsh  Hall in  November, damages that officials have determined to be acts of vandalism. ResLife initiated these meetings between the students and their resident assistants in order to correct the students' behavior by reinforcing the standards of community living, in addition to collecting feedback from residents in order to prevent future damage to the building.

ResLife reported that the current damage sustained in Walsh was estimated to cost $2,600 including labor-related expenses.

The damages include multiple broken ceiling tiles and garbage-strewn study lounges with cracked windows and overturned furniture.

Several students have come forward and admitted to causing some of the damage, said Henry Humphreys, director of ResLife. "We'll deal with those people instead of everybody having to be penalized," Humphreys said.

Humphreys underscored the importance of students' recognition of the housing agreement and how it enables BC to charge students for common area damages and damages found in one's apartment or suite. "By the housing agreement, we have the contractual right to charge students for common area damages, though we rarely do it. However, if you damage the inside of your apartment or suite, you will be held accountable for that. When it comes to hallways and common areas, we try not to charge the students unless the cost becomes so high that we have no choice," Humphreys said.

The recent meetings between students and resident assistants have shed greater light on the difficulty of distinguishing damage caused by vandalism from natural deterioration in Walsh. "We take our direction from the facilities people, and they are really good about being able to determine what is vandalism versus what's wear-and-tear. It's usually pretty clear when it happens here – holes in the wall, glass kicked in, and the missing ceiling tiles were acts of vandalism. Although when the facilities staff does its end of the year assessments of the buildings, it would rather say that it's wear-and-tear and not vandalism," Humphreys said.

Students living in Walsh have expressed their disappointment in the approach taken to remedy issues of vandalism. "I think that the main thing was the lack of communication between Reslife and the residents," said Tiara Alston, CSON '12.

The meeting between Walsh residents and their resident assistants on Jan. 21 was scheduled after the ResLife tallied the total damage and presented the facts to the residential director, Humphreys said.

"Over the winter break, all of the collective damages came together, so it really got to be seen in its entirety, whereas during the course of the fall semester it was incident by incident with each RA addressing it," Humphreys said. "What happened two weeks ago was the RAs saying, ‘Okay, we've been given a summary of what happened for the fall semester, and this is where we are.' Initially, it might seem like it's a delayed reaction, but it's really the full scope of what happened that came into play at the end of the semester."

These incidents of vandalism are not consistent with the overall level of student respect toward BC property, Humphreys said. "Vandalism in the residence halls is not very common, thankfully, especially in comparison to a lot of other colleges."
This sentiment is supported by many students who have partly attributed cases of vandalism to individuals visiting friends at BC. "Most of the damage is probably not even caused by Walsh residents. It's caused by people coming to visit Walsh," said Matthew Cullen, A&S '12.

Humphreys agreed with this possibility but emphasized the responsibility that BC students must take when hosting visitors. "A resident who has a guest visiting them is financially and legally responsible for everything they do on campus."
Walsh residents and Humphreys have said that the Sophomore Leadership Council (SLC) has room to play a greater role in facilitating communication between residents and ResLife to help minimize the threat of future vandalism. "They can better educate or help reduce damages," Humphreys said. "To be fair, BC students are fairly respectful of their environment, but when there are streaks of vandalism, maybe that is another group to involve and help curb some of that."