“College is death, exit.”
These are the words vandals marked on the walls of the University’s Clinical Services building on the southwest corner of campus.
Vandals left clean-up crews with a mess that totaled $1,100 in damage at the building over winter break, according to the Department of Public Safety. Vandals have left damage totaling $4,075 since Sept. 1, according to DPS. Public Safety officers have recorded 30 criminal mischief reports since then.
DPS officers recorded the graffiti damage to the Clinical Services building as the most extensive case they’ve seen so far this school year, a DPS lieutenant said.
“It was on all three floors, which is unusual,” Lt. Herb Horner said. “You usually don’t see damage to that extent.”
Taggers left markings on file cabinets, clock faces, on inside and outside walls, and in a bathroom and stairwell.
“Most of the graffiti that happens is outdoors,” Horner said. “When it happens indoors, it’s usually in specific areas like bathroom stalls.”
A employee who works in the building reported the graffiti Dec. 10 and said the building was without graffiti when she left Dec. 8, according to a DPS report.
Staff can enter the building to gather belongings before the building is locked every day at 5:30 p.m., Horner said. It’s possible the culprit snuck into the building.
“If someone were to go in the building and go to the bathroom, there’s no way of knowing they’re in the building (when it’s locked),” Horner said. “They’d be locked in, but they could get out.”
If caught, DPS will charge the Clinical Services vandal, or vandals, with a felony because the damage totals more than $750.
The Eugene Police Department is currently investigating the case. Horner said that although DPS didn’t find a sign of forced entry, he doesn’t believe someone working in the building is responsible.
“People don’t usually do something to their own house,” Horner said.
Throughout Eugene, taggers spray graffiti to mark territory, express themselves through an art form or to gain notoriety, said EPD Sgt. Carolyn Mason, a four-year graffiti investigator.
“Out last estimate was that about 5 percent is gang-related (in Eugene),” she said. “It’s not art when it’s put on someone else’s property – no matter how good it is. Residents might see the graffiti as gang-related. They think, ‘Oh my God, this place is plagued by gangs.’”
Mason added that it would be a misconception that all graffiti is gang-related and said that Eugene sees little gang-related vandalism.
On campus, taggers typically write political messages such as anti-war slogans, Mason said. She sees the most vandalism on the Beltline Highway sound wall, and in the University, downtown and Churchill neighborhoods. Taggers will often target high-traffic areas where they can show off their work.
Vandals leave city and campus crews with messes to clean. On campus, Ron Bloom, operations and maintenance manager for Facilities Services, is in charge of teams who remove graffiti. He said his team uses chemical and soap solutions and will sometimes pressure wash walls and sidewalks, which are the most difficult to clean.
“It’s a lot of work. We have graffiti every day all over campus,” Bloom said. “We try to get that removed as soon as possible.”
Bloom said most of the markings at Clinical Services were painted over, but graffiti could be found in the stairwell last week.
“We could spend up to a day in a place as big as Clinical Services with one painter trying to cover it up,” Bloom said.
Vandals created the biggest mess for Facilities Services about five years ago when they climbed Esslinger Hall and covered outside walls, Bloom said.
The city’s Public Works department allocates $85,000 for graffiti clean-up that includes staffing and equipment, Mason said.
DPS, Facilities Services and EPD work together to clean and investigate graffiti incidents.
EPD or DPS photographs the markings, and the photos are stored in an electronic database for about six years, Mason said. EPD catches most vandals when citizens call a tip line to report taggings in progress.
Bloom said graffiti can leave campus looking undesirable.
“It’s very unfortunate when parents and visitors come to campus,” Bloom said. “They like to see a nice, pleasing environment. (Graffiti) certainly takes away from that.”
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