While strolling through campus earlier this month, I noticed a campus map tagged with graffiti and a bus shelter nailed with paintballs.
Days later on the Saturday morning of Homecoming, a village businessman was covering a spot on his building with fresh paint. Only one coat of paint in, he was attempting to cover up the destructive act of vandals.
Curious about a possible rise in graffiti, I checked with university officials to get details. I was surprised by what I learned.
It turns out graffiti isn't the most damaging form of vandalism, but it's still a problem.
"It is pretty common - you just don't realize it because we get after it so quickly," Kevin Kenyon, associate vice president of facilities planning and management, said.
Kenyon and Director of Public Safety Gene Burton said the most effective graffiti deterrent is to quickly repair damaged property so vandals have nothing to show for their time.
"It takes the thrill out of it," Kenyon said.
I still question why it's fun to begin with.
Ball State University spends about $3,000 in labor to repair graffiti and other minor vandalism acts each year, Kenyon said. But that's nothing compared to the damage done by skateboarders and stunt bikers.
"We estimated the repair cost for skateboard damage a while ago at $500,000 since it affects durable items like limestone and railings in many locations on campus that would have to be replaced," Kenyon said in an e-mail.
Campus renovations include a lot of limestone architecture. Such beautiful building and walkway accents are chipped away by stunting boarders and bikers. Metal hand railings and stairs are also popular spots for experimental stunts. Each grind chips cement stairs and metal rails.
Without this abuse, most facilities would go five to 10 years before needing major repair.
Limestone repairs would be contracted outside the university because of the extensive detail and knowledge necessary. Because of this, Kenyon can only estimate the cost to hire a third party to fix campus up, an action he said there are currently no plans to do.
While there are no official statistics or evidence, anecdotally, most of the problem boarders and bikers aren't students, Burton said.
Burton and Kenyon said they don't believe the thrill-seekers are intentionally malicious.
"Skateboarders don't come to vandalize campus; they come because it provides opportunity," Kenyon said.
That doesn't mean the opportunity is sanctioned by Ball State. In the trustiest legal sense as dictated by Indiana Code, damaging someone else's property is criminal mischief. While students could face university discipline, non-students could receive a citation, Burton said.
Planners are using more deterrents, Kenyon said. The limestone benches outside the Letterman Building have notches and castellated edges that discourage skateboarders and bikers who want a smooth edge to grind along.
Other activities have side effects creating extra work for the facilities and planning department's 314-member staff, which includes grounds and custodial employees.
Signs taped to light posts, pavement and granite take effort to remove. That is, after all, why we have sign carousels and bulletin boards. Kenyon estimates another $3,000 in labor to take care of those issues each year.
Sidewalk chalk, as intended, is easy to remove, but it takes time and resources. Kenyon said his office is expected to remove chalk as needed so campus is not covered in it. Those labor resources could be used elsewhere for more productive purposes, he said.
Finally, candlelight vigil wax often seeps into the granite around Shafer Tower, leaving oily stains. Drip cards around candles or no-drip wax could cut down on those problems.
Kenyon said he understands these activities are not meant to be destructive and events like vigils are very much encouraged to build community. And as a community, students are expected to look out for the surroundings we call "home" for most of the year.
When I arrived in 2003, McKinley Avenue was a giant concrete landing strip going around one side of Shafer Tower. To that end, students walking this campus today are living in a far more attractive environment than the Ball State of even four years ago.
It's our job to keep it that way.
Write to Dave atheydave@bewilderedsociety.com
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