Bulletin Boards Defaced in McKeon Hall
Decor put up by residential staff in dorms damaged and stolen, residents create memes from the mass email reporting the damage
The Office of Residential Life issued a statement to residents regarding acts of vandalism and stolen property occurring in McKeon Hall.
November 7, 2021
Residents of McKeon Hall received an email on Sept. 29 from Kristopher Little, resident director for first-year students, addressing acts of vandalism and theft on floors 11, 14, 19 and 21. The stolen items included decorations placed throughout the hallways by resident assistants (RAs) and resident first-year mentors (RFMs).
The decorative boards are created by Residential Life staff each semester in order to sponsor an educational and aesthetically-pleasing environment, according to Little.
“We (the Residential Life Staff) put in a lot of time and energy into these boards before residents came onto campus. We spent hours working on them at night well past midnight, making sure that our floors, our decorations, everything looked good for the residents because we want to create a very positive, friendly living environment,” Dennis Zhang, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC) ’24 and RFM of floor 19, said.
The email noted that the stolen items included an Olivia Rodrigo vinyl record, mustache decor and an illustration of the Pokémon character Bulbasaur.
The email noted that the stolen items included an Olivia Rodrigo vinyl record, mustache decor and an illustration of the Pokémon character Bulbasaur. The stolen items have not been returned.
The email sent by Little was the only direct communication of these incidents to all residents in McKeon. Zhang noted that he also emailed his residents on floor 19 personally.
As of Oct. 20, no residents have come forward claiming responsibility for the damage done to any of the floor decorations. If a resident were to come forward, there are disciplinary measures in place.
There currently aren’t any plans to renovate the board.
“Vandalism is a policy violation; students caught in the act or believed to be in connection with the vandalism will go through the conduct process,” Little said. “If found responsible through the conduct process, students may be held accountable through sanctioning and fines.”
When asked if there were plans to remake the handmade stolen items, Kenneth Tang, GSBLC ’24 and RFM of floor 11, said due to time constraints, there currently aren’t any plans to renovate the board.
“Whoever is doing this, please stop breaking the (bulletin) boards because everyone worked hours and hours and dedicated time,” Tang said. “You wouldn’t go to a museum and break something, so why would you do it anywhere else?”
Both Zhang and Tang expressed their disbelief that a resident from their own floor would commit these acts or that their floor would be targeted in general. Tang claimed he “never thought” his floor would be implicated in this, and Zhang “would like to believe that my (residents) wouldn’t commit things like this.”
Although no acts of vandalism have been reported since, Tang fears this will not be an isolated act throughout the academic year. “It will be a habit; that mass email turned out to be a meme. I saw people meming it.”
Zhang stated that the only action to be taken by the McKeon Hall community is to keep in mind the “if you see something, say something” mentality.
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McKeon residents are urged to keep their eyes open and report any strange behavior or evidence of theft and vandalism to an RA, RFM or resident director.
