OK. Welcome back to college, children. Now it’s time to grow the hell up. Vandalism is not cool. It’s not funny. It’s extremely immature and completely unnecessary. So, what’s the point of vandalizing the campus?
It happens at Plymouth State every year – it’s almost a weekly occurrence. There are always the occasional inebriated individuals who chuck rocks through the doors of the residence halls and mark up the granite benches. This year, however, it seems that more graffiti is popping up and more things are being broken. Granted, part of the problem is that with more stuff to vandalize, the more that will be damaged. That’s simple math. It doesn’t excuse the perpetrators.
PSU students are already skating on thin ice with the townspeople, and the continued disrespect for this campus does absolutely nothing to improve that. Perhaps the most unfortunate thing is that the students who are working to make these relations better have their good deeds overrun by the select few idiots that are hell-bent on causing trouble.
As always, it is the rotten apples that continue to spoil the entire orchard. The unfortunate fact is that 95% of the students here choose to not engage in destructive behaviors, but our own inability to control our peers and the “But they’re my friend” mentality prevents many vandalism acts from being reported.
When we were kids, we were taught to respect items that didn’t belong to us. We were also instructed to treat other people’s property as if it were our own. The people who vandalize the campus should be ashamed of themselves.
One thing that these people need to realize is that they are the reason places like Grafton used to be thought of as “Ghetto Grafton.” They are the reason the town thought it should panic when the Red Sox beat the Yankees. They are the reason that so many extra costs are assigned to students on an annual basis due to bathroom and hallway damages, broken windows and other forms of selfish entertainment.
In the end, it comes down to this – own your shit! If someone came and egged your house, wouldn’t that piss you off? Newsflash: Plymouth State is now your home! Take pride in it and protect it. Don’t let people disrespect where you live. It reflects badly on you and on the campus as a whole. Own up to the fact that you now have a responsibility to this campus. Report vandalism when it happens and stop it if you can. If you identify with part of that 5% that cannot hold your alcohol-lay off the booze until you figure out your limit. Or, if not that, at least be intelligent enough to hang out with individuals who don’t have the compulsive need to destroy things after drinking. Own it, live it, and take care of Plymouth.