Lee 3 resident advisors walked in on a nasty surprise last Friday night: someone had broken into and vandalized their rooms, reportedly defecating in at least one RA’s room.
Police are offering $500 for any information regarding the incident.
“The vandalism was out of the bounds of any sense of decency,” said Washington University Police Chief Don Strom. “It was disgusting. The behavior was totally unacceptable and inconsistent with behavior expected of the Washington University community.”
Student Life agreed not to print the names of the Lee 3 RAs due to the sensitive nature of the situation. The RAs asked Lee 3 residents not to speak to reporters. The Residential College Director for Lee, Urisonya Roberson, also declined to be interviewed.
Strom alluded to past conflicts between the RAs and students on Lee 3 as a possible motive for the crimes.
“The level of tension between Residential Life staff and residents is likely to have contributed to this episode,” said Strom.
Police are asking students to step forward to help uncover the perpetrator. Strom said students could submit anonymous tips by going to the WUPD Web site, police.wustl.edu, and clicking the link titled “Silent Witness.”
“We feel that the people on the residents’ floor have information about the person who vandalized the room, but they have not come forward,” said Strom. “They either know or have heard who was responsible for it.”
Strom could not comment on possible repercussions for the perpetrator. For now, police are continuing their investigation of evidence they picked up from the scene.
“We’re going through some physical evidence,” said Strom. “We’ll process it as we see fit.”
Other RAs said they were shocked and disgusted by what happened in Lee.
“I definitely think it’s disgraceful, what happened,” said junior Jarrett Cabell, an RA in Beaumont. “If it were residents who did it, I really think that shows little respect, not only for their residential advisors but for Residential Life in general.”