Franz Hall and Mago Hunt were vandalized with the words “Palestine” and “Free Palestine” at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23. The incident was reported by custodial staff who were inside the building at the time the vandalism occurred, according to Director of Campus Safety and Emergency Management Michael McNerney.
The vandalism comes amidst a resurgence of flyers and stickers in support of Palestine on campus. Similar flyers initially appeared without formal approval on academic buildings back in February.
“This was most likely at least two people and unfortunately, we believe it's connected to essentially a rash of less significant or serious vandalism around the campus that we’ve been addressing without as much attention being drawn to it,” McNerney said.
Though the responsible parties haven’t yet been identified, Campus Safety is still investigating how the vandalism occurred.
Vandalism on the East side of Mago Hunt. The vandalism comes amidst a resurgence of flyers and stickers in support of Palestine on campus.
“It is unclear at this time whether or not it was students involved in the incident, but we’re fairly certain that individuals came onto campus with appropriate equipment and probably in a vehicle,” McNerney said.
Franz Hall’s Westside doors and surrounding brick were affected, along with the East side of Mago Hunt. While it’s uncertain which tools were used in the vandalism, possibilities include projecting equipment, according to McNerney.
For Custodial Day Supervisor Gabe Neff, clearing off the vandalism has taken Facilities resources away from end-of-year preparations.
“We started our shift this morning finding the building had been painted, vandalized on the outside,” Neff said. “We are in the process of bringing in some heavy equipment, high lift, to get up high where all the paint is, masking off doors to prevent water intrusion and damaging anything further inside the building. This is all at a time when we should be focusing on commencements, end-of-the-year move-outs.”
The Westside doors of Franz Hall being masked off to prevent water damage while removing the vandalism. Director of Campus Safety and Emergency Management Michael McNerney estimates thousands of dollars in damage.
The intensive cleanup is also projected to cost the University thousands.
“Unfortunately, because of the amount of work that's required to remove and or paint over, most likely paint over in the case of Mago Hunt, we’re talking about thousands of dollars in damage most likely,” McNerney said. “This is a pretty serious crime at this point.”
Importantly, McNerney finds that the vandalism cleanups aren’t representative of Campus Safety’s position on the Israel-Hamas war.
“We’re not doing [the cleanup] because of any judgements placed on the message or the meaning [of the vandalism], although the University has chosen to take a more neutral position on the conflict, but because this is something that has significant repercussions for the campus community,” McNerney said.
Camille Kuroiwa-Lewis is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at kuroiwal26@up.edu.
Tiffany Marquez Escobar contributed to this story. She can be reached at marqueze25@up.edu.
