Monday, January 28, 2008
Someone has been vandalizing the doors of the Jayhawker Towers. This is not spray paint or toilet paper, either. Someone has been ripping the metal handles off of the doors, making it nearly impossible to get into the building.
“We don’t know who the vandal is,” said Diana Robertson, director of student housing.
An unknown vandal has been ripping the handles off the doors of Tower C in the Jayhawk Tower Apartments. A sign was posted in an attempt to deter further vandalization of the buildings.
Since last fall, door handles have been repeatedly broken off the basement door on the east side of Tower C. The vandal or vandals apparently bend the handle backward until it snaps off near the keyhole, leaving a jagged edge. To then enter the building, residents must attempt to turn the small inch-long part of the remaining handle.
Each handle is connected to a KUID-scanning box that allows residents to scan their cards to get in. Every time a vandal breaks a handle, a new box must be installed. Each box costs about $250.
Robertson doesn’t know why the vandalism happens, but she thinks the vandal is a resident without a KUID or someone who is not a resident of Tower C trying to get inside.
Robertson said maintenance has replaced so many boxes that it is out of backups, and the basement door to Tower C is currently inaccessible from the outside.
“What we need there is help to identify who’s doing this,” Robertson said. She encourages any students with information to come forward to end the inconvenience.
Residents of Tower C aren’t very happy about the vandalism, either.
“I don’t like it, it’s a pain in the ass,” said Neil Hyde, Overland Park sophomore. He thinks it’s done on purpose.
“I hate it, man,” Hyde said.
Jesse Jones, Hutchinson senior, doesn’t think the vandalism done on purpose, but he says it’s still annoying when it happens. He said the doors get stuck sometimes, so some residents jerk too hard trying to open the door.
“The handles are really easy to break,” Jones said.
Jared Anderson, Olathe senior, said he’s actually seen someone try to break the handle off before. He doesn’t see the point in the vandalism, though. In fact, his roommate once cut up his hand trying to turn a broken handle.
Anderson has come up with his own method of opening broken doors.
“I just grab a newspaper,” he said.
Student housing sent a letter to all Tower C residents asking for their help.
“Please be aware of fellow students entering the building improperly and report any information you may have about the previous damage or any further damage,” the letter said.
“The card-swipe system is there for the convenience of the students obviously, and it’s discouraging that we, in essence, have to inconvenience them,” Robertson.
She said they are working with the Public Safety Office to stop it.
— Edited by Katherine Loeck
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Comments
Handle vandal inconveniences residents
"The Vandals stole the handle". That's Awesome.
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