Two Drew girls deface buildings

Graffiti began showing up on the walls of Drew University buildings during the first few weeks of school.

According to Chief of Public Safety Thomas Evans, "[Graffiti] is not something that happens at Drew very often," he said.

Evans remembered a dark green fence that was around Mead Hall a few years ago and was the same color as a chalkboard. He said that he was always waiting for someone to write something on the fence, but no one ever did.

According to Evans, the graffiti was a picture of a rabbit with the text "rabbit" written near it. "It was like a tag…like somebody’s name," he said.

There were four different times when graffiti was reported on campus, which spanned from September to December. The image appeared in multiple locations on campus, including the outer walls of Riker Hall, Eberhardt Hall and Baldwin Gym. The damage to property on campus totaled $1,000.

"It’s hard to get off," Evans said about the graffiti.

In early December, Evans sent out an e-mail asking for students to help identify the person responsible for the graffiti.

"We are asking for your assistance in identifying the person(s) responsible for the graffiti that has been appearing on campus since September," the e-mail said. The e-mail included a link to a CrimeStoppers flyer issued by the Madison Police Department.

Although, according to Evans, "vandalism cases are hard to find," two Drew students were charged with criminal mischief and conspiracy for painting the graffiti.

According to Lieutenant Darren Dachisen of Madison Police Department, Debrah Midence (’13) and Brigitte Saket (’13) were arrested by Detective James Haspel, and released on Dec. 10. Dachisen said that both girls provided a statement. Both Midence and Saket are no longer at Drew.

According to Evans, "The name ‘rabbit’ came up for the nickname of a student on campus [on a social networking website]."

Drew students were unhappy with the graffiti around campus. "People can express themselves, but not on certain property," Natalie DeAngelo (’11) said. "Obviously they weren’t too smart about it."

"[The graffiti is] kind of ridiculous," Edward Wang (’11) said. "I’d think that [Drewids] are old enough not to do stuff like that."