February 9, 2012
Many darkside residents awoke to an unfamiliar scene on Sunday morning. A ring of chairs, held together with caution tape, surrounded the windows outside of Café Opus I. Where once a floor-to-ceiling glass panel had been, stood a large wooden board instead. The makeshift barrier was hastily erected around 12 a.m. on Sunday morning, after the glass window was shattered.
“The investigation revealed that an unknown individual threw, pushed or kicked a metal café table through the six-foot-by-eight-foot window, leaving half of the glass smashed out,” said Director of Campus Safety Fran Manfredo.
Manfredo encourages anyone with information about the incident to make an anonymous report via the TipNow hotline.
In addition to requiring the time and attention of Campus Safety on what Dean of Students Nancy Thompson reported was a particularly rowdy night, the incident will also cost the College more than $1,800 in repairs.
Yet there is a bright side to this destruction, which unfortunately occurred just one week after a campus-wide discussion on alcohol use among Hamilton students. Much like the community meeting, students saw the blank wood panel as an opportunity for positive expression. By the end of the day, the panel was covered with artistic graffiti and inspiring messages and quotes. Though the artists remain largely anonymous, their work has been widely appreciated.
Many students patronizing Café Opus I in the past week took the time to admire the decorated panel and ponder its meaning. Sarah Goldstein, co-owner of Opus, said that the members of Physical Plant who quickly replaced the large glass window were reluctant to dispose of the wood panel, and were relieved when Goldstein asked them to move the work of art to the back landing for safe keeping.
“I’m hoping we can save it and find a place for it on one of our walls,” said Goldstein, gesturing toward the comfortable sitting area that is already adorned with displays of students’ creativity. Goldstein has asked Physical Plant, who had to pay for the wood, if she can keep the panel permanently.
The artwork does still have a negative association, however, for as Manfredo points out, it was created in response to a disrespectful and destructive act. “While the artwork was creative and nicer to look at than a blank sheet of plywood, it still does not change the fact that the College spent $1,800 to repair damage caused by vandalism that just didn’t need to happen.”