A torn down water fountain. A broken glass window. A fight between two young women and several false fire alarms – these are just a few of the many incidents that have plagued Biever Hall this year.
An outsider could write these off as isolated events or the results of a drunken night, but in reality, this year’s increase in hall incidents shows a lack of respect for fellow classmates and the surrounding environment.
For about nine months of the year, students living on campus consider the residence halls their home away from home. They move into their dorm rooms, make new friends and acclimate themselves in an attempt to make their first year of freedom a pleasant experience.
However, their new college experience suddenly evolves into a less enjoyable one when they find trash strewn about the hallway. It becomes even more unpleasant when the high-pitched screeching of a prank fire alarm wakes them at 6 a.m. In more serious instances, residents have reason to fear for their safety when they see a violent physical fight between the girls living in the room next door.
Instances of violence and vandalism like the ones seen in Biever Hall are not only dangerous and disrespectful, but also cast a negative light on students. It’s offensive and despicable that university administrators have had to hold a meeting with an entire floor because of racist and homophobic graffiti written on bathroom stall doors.
These acts of vandalism dramatically reduce the students’ standard of living. Most people don’t want to live in a residence hall where spit swathes the elevator walls and vomit covers the bathroom floors.
Most sensible people with an ounce of common sense and decency know not to kick holes in the wall or rip down signs for amusement. College students at a respectable university such as Loyola should be mature enough to realize that urinating on their neighbor’s door is childish and unbecoming. You wouldn’t perform these actions in your home and you shouldn’t do them in your residence hall.
Since it isn’t always easy to target the culprit of an act of vandalism, everyone in the dorm gets fined for the damage. Confessions do not come easily and witnesses are often afraid to come forward in fear of retaliation for turning in a fellow resident. Residents who are caught suffer the consequences for their actions, which can include anything from a fine and community service hours to expulsion from the residence halls.
The fines from these acts of vandalism in Biever Hall have risen into the thousands of dollars, and are growing every day. The deliberate destruction of property is a serious crime that should not be taken lightly. Intoxication and immaturity are not legitimate excuses for frivolous vandalism and violence.
It’s time for the residents of Biever Hall to take responsibility for their actions and realize that their actions affect not just themselves, but everyone around them.
