Friday, February 26, 2010
By Jason Jones
Staff Writer
Students filter into school to be met by a defaced wall, coated in illegible scrawls. The administration is forced to spend time and money repainting a wall that was perfectly clean a day before.
All this occurred at Mira Costa because of frequent, unrelated instances of vandalism throughout the 2009 and 2010 school years.
A number of senior girls vandalized the houses of the junior girls they would soon compete against in the powder-puff football game. Because of these cases of vandalism, the annual game will be cancelled indefinitely.
“We will not be having the powder-puff game for a few years. I want the girls to forget that it is a tradition to vandalize the homes of the juniors the night before the game. Then we can try it again,” Principal Julie Ruisinger said.
Obscene pictures and phrases were spray painted on Costa’s field and on walls around campus in the first incident, which took place in November. The second incident involved the vandalism of two MCHS signs with gang-related tags, one on Peck Avenue and one on Artesia Boulevard.
“I honestly think that the first incident, where the offenders were on campus, was a feeble attempt by a rival school to dishearten us or attempt to get our spirits down, but Mira Costa has more pride and sense than that,” Vice Principal Paula Spence said.
The investigations of the two incidents are closed until further information is brought to the police. Suspects have yet to be identified in either incident.
“Kids talk. We just need a little bit of information to help with the investigation,” school resource officer John Loy said.
An on-campus camera system is in place to stop these crimes. When a crime is committed, school security officers review the tapes to brings charges against those involved in the crime.
“The punishment can range from a ticket to probation to jail time depending on the judge,” Loy said.
Along with the camera system, Costa locks its gates at 10 p.m. in an attempt to stop students from vandalizing the campus late at night. Costa security also monitors the campus late at night.
“Last year’s senior prank was by far the worst vandalism we have had in many years, and sadly, that was done by our own students. More often the vandalism is small but equally detrimental,” Spence said.
Last year the senior prank involved gluing the locks of classroom doors shut, which required extensive work to repair. The prank received a negative response from students and the vandals were caught.
“I think it wasn’t a good senior prank because it caused a lot of damage to the school. I’m glad they got caught and had to pay,” senior Jack Danylik said.
Although the two most recent reported crimes appear to be committed by students from other schools, Costa students are often caught vandalizing their own campus. These pranks increase the workload of maintenance and cause the school to spend money.
“If we have to spend money to repair vandalism, maintenance has less time to repair other things on campus that fall apart from wear and tear,” security lead Ray Lee said.
The Manhattan Beach Police Department has an anonymous tip line to call if a witness wants to share information about a crime. The MBPD also provides forms for incident reporting.
“It’s everyone’s responsibility to take care of the campus and to report crimes when you see them,” said Loy.
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