Lauren JosephBetween 10:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 29, public safety officers were notified of a second act of vandalism within two weeks to the sign at the main entrance to Cabrini. The first act on April 16 was easy to clean up because it was latex paint and easily removable. The most recent incident may require Cabrini to replace the sign entirely.
Apparently taking place in broad daylight, not to mention in the middle of a very busy intersection, vandals chopped away at the sign and left what appeared to be hammer indentations. The estimated cost of the damage is $15,000.
Director of Public Safety Charlie Schaffner ventures to guess that we don’t have to look further than the Cabrini community for the perpetrator. “We don’t think it’s any of the neighbors so that leaves two populations that might have something to do with it; some high school kids or someone who is very unhappy with us,” he said.
Senior Lori Lonergan said, “That’s horrible for someone to do something like that. They know it’s really expensive not to mention the hassle of cleaning it up and repairing it. It’s really immature, that sign is only a year old.”
Four years ago as a senior prank, Cabrini seniors dumped detergent into the fountain on the front lawn of the school. Being that the pump system of the pond is an open system, the detergent killed mostly all animals that inhabited the pond, forcing the school to hire a contractor to empty and clean out the pond and its pumps. Since this recent incident is so close to graduation, Schaffner said, “I hope this is not the seniors’ idea of a senior prank.”
Senior Linda Cylc said, “I cannot understand why anyone would do something like this. It really makes no difference whether or not these individuals had any kind of reasons behind their actions; it’s obvious that vandalism doesn’t solve any problems or get any kind of point across. The whole situation is just really immature and a waste of time. It’s a shame that we have to deal with this, especially so close to graduation.”
The school has asked Radnor police for extra patrol to make sure that an incident like this doesn’t happen again. This extra patrol should also help with the vandalism to Eastern University’s sign. Letters from the sign across the street from Cabrini’s has had letters stolen and replaced twice. Both Schaffner and the Director of Public Safety at Eastern believe that Eastern students are not responsible for the vandalism.
Senior English/ communication major Joe McGovern said, “I think someone has to get a life. Who has time to go outside with a hammer chopping away at a sign? I don’t.”
