Unidentified vandals defaced tables in the Baker Library Reserve Corridor with pro-lesbian, anti-fraternity, anti-male and anti-homophobic statements at the close of Fall term.
Hanover Police estimated the damage at $700, making the act a Class B Felony. Hanover Police Patrol Supervisor Richard Paulsen said the vandalism was committed between 7:45 and 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 with bold red and black markers.
Statements written on the tables include "Frats rape," "Dyke strike," "Lesbian power" and "Unity," accompanied by the female-gender symbol.
Paulsen said the vandals were well organized.
"The writing was really bold," he said. "It would have taken a long time" to write.
Paulsen said the marks stood out above the smaller scribbles that litter the surfaces of the tables in the popular study area.
The graffiti was discovered when a library employee returned to the Reserve Corridor and "smelled the strong odor of magic marker," Paulsen said. The employee called Safety and Security, who contacted the Hanover Police.
"As soon as we discovered [the vandalized tables] we called campus police, and they came over and looked at them," College Librarian Margaret Otto said. "Then the Buildings and Grounds people were notified to see if they could get rid of some of the marks. They did a good job with them."
Paulsen said there were no suspects, although several unknown females were observed in the Reserve Corridor near the time of the incident.
Paulsen said the females were "not necessarily suspects, but we'd like to know who they are so we can talk to them."
Otto said nobody saw the people who committed the crime because the library was "virtually deserted" at the time.
Safety and Security officer Don Archambeault said the incident is currently under investigation by his office and the Hanover Police Department. Otto said all the graffiti should be removed by now, due to a previously scheduled sanding and refinishing of the Reserve Corridor tables.
"The idea was that they would be completely refinished before the beginning of next term," she said. "There must have been concerns about that graffiti for some time. Some of it is quite objectionable."
