Vandals graffitied initials on a few walls and took a computer monitor and an electric guitar after school on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Freshman Allison Zhang, who plays violin, heard from orchestra teacher Felecia Keys that her computer monitor and an electric guitar were stolen from the orchestra room.
“It’s pretty unsettling that someone could just come on campus and do this,” Zhang said.
The computer monitor and the electric guitar were found near the pre-K play area as was the spray-painted graffiti. The graffiti was also found in the second grade’s hallway in the lower school building, on a wall outside the After School Enrichment office and on some planks of wood.
The graffiti has since been covered over with primer and paint.
After finding the graffiti, two custodians put primer on the wall, and the next day Jay Holman, director of the physical plant, painted over it.
Holman said that there is no hard evidence that identifies the vandals.
According to Holman, there have been a few accounts of a couple boys being on campus after hours. For example, in September, two boys were found joyriding one of the custodial flat carts in the parking lot and were asked to leave. Another time, a few boys were found playing on the lower school basketball court on a weekend.
However, there is no evidence that the recent incident is connected to the same boys.
Holman said he notified Smart Guard, the company that sends night guards to check on the campus periodically, and faculty members of the recent vandalism. In an email Holman told teachers to lock their doors more often and to call him or security if they see suspicious characters.
According to Zhang, Keys always locks the music room now instead of leaving it open for orchestra members to pick up their instruments after school.
“Clearly it’s better than getting things taken, but we need to find (custodian) Matt (Liedtke) to unlock it (if Keys is not there),” Zhang said. “Ms. Keys usually leaves around 4 p.m., so for most people it’s all right, but for others it’s just a pain.”
—By Sonja Hansen
Graffiti was found near the pre-K play area, in the lower school building, on a wall outside the After School Enrichment office and on some planks of wood.
