I am writing to inform the entire Tufts community of an issue I feel all of us should know about. As you may or may not know, there were recently a series of vandalism incidents in Wren Hall.
Someone found it amusing to take the pinball machine, carry it out of Wren, and throw it over the bridge connecting Wren to the academic quad. Another person or group of people stole the ping-pong table located in the same lobby near the vandalized pinball machine. The University is trying to impose a fine of $10 on every single student living in Wren to pay for the damages done. In addition, someone decided to use a fire extinguisher unnecessarily, leading to a $20 fine imposed on each resident of Wren. I, for one, am outraged at the policy the University has taken on this matter. It's not the issue of the actual $30 (although for some that is quite a cost) that upsets me, but rather the reasoning behind this fine.
I pay this university a very large tuition bill every year. On top of that, I'm forced to pay for a meal plan which I don't want, to buy overpriced books at the bookstore because the titles of my coursebooks are not made available to me in advance, and to be subjected to a "sophomore housing requirement" which does not allow me to move off campus as I desire and instead has provided me the luxury of a room half the size of a closet. The point is that I pay enough money to this University for my education and living costs; why should I have to incur costs for the bad behavior of other students as well? I am not able to control the way someone was raised, his or her moral and ethical boundaries and guidelines, and thus his or her behavior. Why should I then have to pay a fine for someone else's bad judgment?
Furthermore, why doesn't the University insure all of the things it puts in public spaces? I, for one, never used and would never want a pinball machine or ping-pong table. I'm sure others derive much satisfaction from their use, but if the University is not going to take responsibility for the things it leaves in public areas, I for one will not be held accountable and pay for their replacement. I didn't want those things in the first place. Additionally, if the University knew it would impose such fines on its students if things like the ping-pong table and pinball machine were stolen, why didn't they have the common sense to chain them down or bolt them to the ground? A chain or bolts would have worked; all other machines put in public areas are somehow secured.
Vandalism IS a problem; the University can't go on thinking it can leave unsecured things in public areas with the optimistic outlook that they won't be damaged. Then, when they are, the University should not charge innocent students for their replacement. Most other universities have house managers or front desks which monitor or ID every single person coming in to the building. If the University is too naive to realize that vandalism, thefts, and destruction of public property happens, and is too frugal to pay for dorm security guards, it must find other preventative measures. We as students will not continue to be made accountable and pay for the destructive behavior of other students.
Manijeh Azmoodeh is a sophomore majoring in international relations.
