Wabash students suspected in campus spray-painting

635

Inside Asbury Hall, posters hung urging DePauw students to remain respectful during Monon weekend. Outside, red and white spray paint defaced DePauw's campus.
Unidentified students spray painted on East College, Roy O. West Library, the archway leading to East College and the Boulder Friday morning before the Monon Bell Classic football game.
In an email to the student body, Vice President of Student Services Cindy Babington said the vandalism was likely the action of a small group of students from Wabash. About a dozen workers each cleaned most of the day Friday and are still not finished.
"We're hoping to have it cleaned sooner rather than later," Rob Harper, head of Facilities Management said. "We don't want to make a bad situation worse by using a wrong chemical."
"We're still in the initial reaction stages and trying to get it cleaned up," Harper added.
Paint on East College and Roy O. West requires a stone specialist to help take the paint off. Most of the other paint came off using power washers and paint stripper. Remnants of red block letters spelling out "WABASH" remain on the columns of Roy O. West.
"To [spray paint] the Boulder is one thing, but not East College," senior Josh Miller said.
Harper said spray painting the buildings wasn't a harmless college prank.
"Defacing any kind of property is going too far," Harper said. "Whether it is a light pole, or East College, or the Boulder, it's still defacing property."
Babington told students in her email that Wabash President Pat White and student body president Alex Robbins both called President Brian Casey Friday morning to apologize.
Angie Nally, director of Public Safety, spoke with representatives from Wabash who said they are confident they will catch the vandals. Nally said though that she is unsure if the names of individuals will get reported to DePauw and that it's possible Wabash will handle the situation within their university and community standards.
A failed attempt by a group of DePauw students to steal the Bell early Thursday morning potentially caused the retaliation.
"[DePauw students] tried to steal the Bell," freshman Kelsey Strohmeyer said. "It's not like they're doing things, and we are not."
Intense rivalries between DePauw and Wabash make the Monon Bell game a highlight of the fall semester. But actions taken by both DePauw and Wabash this semester are often considered the norm.
"I thought it was kind of funny," Strohmeyer said. "But they took it too far."