The Journal

Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Jamie Ford The electrical box across Edgar Road from the Emerson Library is adorned with graffiti. The campus has seen a recent increase in the amount of graffiti on buildings and other structures, such as the parking garage and various signs throughout campus. Another notable area is the crosswalks at Big Bend Boulevard and Edgar Road, as well as the crosswalk at Edgar Road and Garden Avenue.

During the last several weeks, an unknown person or group of people has written graffiti on walls, electrical boxes and trash cans at locations around the WU campus. The two most prominent locations that have been tagged are in the parking garage and at various intersections around the campus.

Tracy Winka, the manager of operations for Public Safety, said that there has always been some slight trouble in the past, but nothing of this scale.

"Over the last three weeks to a month, we've been experiencing a big increase in the amount of graffiti on campus," Winka said. "Even last semester, there wasn't a problem like this."

Winka said that the Webster Groves Police Department has been informed, but has no suspects.

"We've already instituted extra patrols around campus, and we're already up to full staff here," Winka said. "What it's going to take to stop these people is somebody, either a Public Safety officer, a student or a policeman, seeing them doing it and being able to give an accurate description of them."

Winka said until then, the only thing Public Safety can do is put in work orders to campus maintenance to have the graffiti removed.

Kelsey Schwantes, a sophomore psychology major at WU, said she first noticed the writing on a trash can outside Emerson Library.

"When I saw the face someone had spray painted there, I thought that it was cool at first. Then, when I heard that it was all over the campus, all I could think of was that it was childish. If I had the chance to say anything to (the taggers), I'd tell them to grow up."

Schwantes has her own theories about who has been spray painting the campus.

"The fact that we all pay so much to be here and that it's all over campus tells me that it's somebody else from off campus," she said.

Jeremy Johnson, a senior animation major, said the graffiti is an eyesore.

"I have no idea what it's supposed to say or mean, and nobody else on campus seems to understand it either," Johnson said.

Johnson said he is relieved that it was only graffiti.

"I think that they could have done a whole lot worse. At least this doesn't physically hurt anybody, even though it will probably cost to fix it," Johnson said.

Although he is unhappy about the problem, Johnson isn't sure what could be done to correct it.

"With what they did, it wouldn't be easy to stop them," Johnson said. "The only way to stop people from doing this is to hire a lot more Public Safety people and have them patrol constantly. I can't even imagine what that would cost."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools