Update, 5:15 pm: According to Fr. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry, the crucifix was damaged in a minor way, though it did not constitute “desecration,” which is property damage with intent to religiously offend.

“The preliminary investigation indicates … that there was no evidence of desecration, and desecration means property damage with the intent of making religious offense,” he said. “In the investigation we have now … any property damage was not intended to make religious offense. It’s property damage.”

The crucifix fell off of its base, and part of the hand of the crucifix was damaged. Investigators’ best guess is that whoever was inside the chapel knocked it off as he or she was moving around the piano and organ, which was also damaged.

According to University Spokeswoman Rachel Pugh, there will be increased security around the chapel in the coming days.

Original Post: According to an email to students from University President John DeGioia, the Department of Public Safety received a report early this morning that the interior Dahlgren Chapel itself had been vandalized. The Metropolitan Police Department is working along with DPS in the investigation.

According to Travis Richardson (COL ’15), who is active in campus ministry, chairs were vandalized and a mirror was missing from the organ. According to DeGioia’s email, “The preliminary investigation indicates that there was no desecration of the Blessed Sacrament or any religious symbols. The primary damage was to furniture and other fixtures.”

Sam Dulik (SFS ’13), an active member of Georgetown’s Catholic community, said that the chairs were tossed about the room, with some broken. He also also mentioned some windows possibly being broken, as well.

Some reports to Vox also indicated that, contrary to DeGioia’s email, the crucifix used for processionals did sustain damage, but that detail hasn’t been confirmed. The tabernacle, however, was not damaged.

Morning masses have been relocated. Evening masses will proceed as scheduled.

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Last night, the large American flag turned campaign poster that the Malkerson-Cleary ticket put up in Red Square was vandalized with the words “U.S. WANTED FOR MURDER!” The Department of Public Safety classified the incident as vandalism, and Colton Malkerson (COL ’13) promised in a Youtube video filmed from the scene to return the flag to its original state.

Malkerson’s opponents decried the act.

Nate Tisa (COL ’14) wrote to Vox, “Defacing the American flag, or any flag for that matter, is detestable and should be condemned by the entire community. All candidates for this office are pouring their time and effort into the race and should not be unfairly mistreated. We hope that they are able to repair their signs and move on with the campaign.”

However, Tisa also qualified his remarks, questioning the Malkerson campaign’s decision to use the flag in the first place: “That said, there is inherent risk in connecting something like the American flag so superfluously to a campaign for student government. The Malkerson-Cleary campaign does not lay exclusive claim to America and the sign does not further their issues. Hoyas not in support of their campaign may find their names spread throughout the flag in poor taste, not to mention what it says about inclusion and diversity. Lets move back to the issues at hand.”

Clara Gustafson (SFS ’13) wrote in an email, “I hope this was not done by any campaign, I think it would reflect badly on all of the candidates if this election goes negative. We need to remember that this is about the issues and the team that will be able to make the most positive change on campus. I don’t believe that you can make positive change if you are tearing down the other candidates first.”

“I’m highly disappointed that someone would resort to vandalism in order to express his or her views. This is an unfortunate blemish on what has thus far been a positive campaign. I told Colton and Maggie if they need help fixing their sign, I would be glad to pitch in,” wrote Tyler Sax (COL ’13).

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Earlier this evening, the Department of Public Safety reported that bias related graffiti had been found in a men’s bathroom stall in the New Research Building. According to the report, the defacement contained “racial, anti-Semitic, and anti-religious remarks,” and was reported by a member of the medical center staff. The Metro Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force has been informed of the crime, and will work with DPS in its investigation.

Although it has been almost a year since one was last reported, this is not the first case of bias related vandalism that Georgetown has seen. Most recently, racist graffiti was found in September in the tunnels below campus, along with a “possible noose” (which turned out not to be a noose after all). Such problems have also been reported in campus residences.

As of now, DPS has not announced any suspects, and encourages anyone with information on this crime to inform them via Georgetown’s Bias Reporting System, or to call DPS at (202) 687-4343.

A GoCard machine used for operating laundry facilities in Henle Village was stolen between midnight and 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

 Denise Fung, area coordinator for Henle, emailed residents on Wednesday informing them that the community will likely be billed between $2,000 and $3,000 for the cost of replacing the machine. The cost will be split evenly among Henle residents unless someone comes forward to claim responsibility for the incident.

Full text of the email to Henle residents after the jump.

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Last Saturday, a fence surrounding a townhouse on the 3200 block of O Street was vandalized, according to a post on the Georgetown listserv.

This is about when we figured that the poster, Robert Laycock, would accuse Georgetown students of the damage. Let’s just say he surprised us.

“[S]everal individuals, probably inebriated, pulled off the wrought iron railing on the steps leading to the front door of the house,” Laycock, who moonlights as the treasurer of the Citizen’s Association of Georgetown, wrote. “The noise woke up almost everyone on our block.”

He added that the townhouse’s elderly residents, who did not respond to our contact attempts, “depend on the rail for support going up and down the steps.”

In summary: Georgetown residents’ property was damaged on a weekend night. The incident disturbed a number of sleeping neighbors. Another resident, who is involved with a group that isn’t on friendly terms with the University, wrote about the incident without immediately blaming students.

Shit, you guys. Is this a trap, somehow?

Photo: Robert Laycock

The rope found this week hanging in a Healy Hall sub-basement was not a noose, according to Associate Vice President for Communications Julie Green Bataille.

“[N]ew details have come to light that lead us to believe the rope in question has actually been in this area for some period of time coiled up and was likely used for climbing activity,” she wrote in an email. “We do not believe it was any kind of noose.”

The rope, which was described as “a loose hanging rope with a knotted loop at one end” in an email sent to the Georgetown community last night, sparked an investigation of the utility tunnels that run underneath Georgetown’s campus.

During the investigation, Department of Public Safety officers also discovered “racist graffiti” in the tunnels. This morning, however, a University official told local media outlets that the vandalism was not a recent act.

“We are still actively investigating the matter and will take seriously any new details that may emerge but are grateful to members of the campus community for providing additional information to aid our efforts so quickly,” Bataille wrote.

11:50 a.m. update: This morning, a University official told local television news outlets that the rope has been identified as a piece of climbing equipment, not a noose. The official also confirmed that the graffiti was not a recent act.

After discovering “a loose hanging rope with a knotted loop at one end” in a utility room in the sub-basement of Healy Hall this week, University employees filed a report with the Department of Public Safety, according to an email written by Vice President for University Safety Rocco DelMonaco and Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson.

The room, which is locked and off-limits, can also be accessed through utility tunnels that run underneath campus. During the ensuing DPS investigation, officers also discovered “racist graffiti and vandalism” in the tunnels, which suggests “illegal trespassing that has occurred over an extended period of time.”

The University has contacted the Metropolitan Police Department to assist in the ongoing investigation. While no suspect has been identified, DelMonaco and Olson encouraged anyone with information about the incidents to alert the University through DPS or the Bias Reporting System.

“We must underscore that acts of vandalism, hate and intolerance have no place in our campus community,” they wrote. “Together all of these incidents are disturbing and not to be accessed except by trained and authorized personnel.”

Tonight at 9 p.m., representatives from Student Affairs, DPS, and Campus Ministry plan to hold a community meeting in the Village C Alumni Lounge to discuss the incidents.

After the jump, we’ve republished DelMonaco and Olson’s full email.

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Several windows of businesses on 36th Street, including Wisemiller’s Grill’s, were smashed at 1:55 a.m. this morning, according to Department of Public Safety Officer Hariri.

As you can see in the photo, the window on the door to Wisey’s was shattered.  According to Hariri, the windows of three other businesses on the same block were also broken.

Vox will let you know when we find out more about the situation.

Update 11:45 a.m. Associate Director of DPS Joseph Smith writes in an email that the broken glass door at Wisey’s is related to a theft that occurred there early this morning:

[On] Thursday morning, at 1:54 a.m., it was discovered that unknown person or persons entered Wisemiller’s and absconded with a cash register. The apparent method of entry was by breaking the front door glass. It is an ongoing MPD investigation. There are not witnesses or suspects at this time.

Photo by Miykaelah Sinclair.

Yesterday morning the American Apparel store on M St. received a call threatening to break their windows if they didn’t remove the “Legalize Gay” T-shirts displayed there, according to Washington City Paper‘s The Sexist blog:

Around 10:30 a.m., visual merchandiser Walter Reed fielded a call from a male who was “enraged for no reason.”

“He was like, is this the Silver Spring location? And I said, ‘No, this is the Georgetown location, ‘” says Reed. “He said, ‘You have some Legalize Gay shirts in the window there.’ He said that he and his friends found it offensive, and that if we didn’t take them down, they were going to break it—the window,” said Reed. “I said, ‘Is that a threat, Sir?’ And then he hung up.”

The threat is particularly credible because on Monday an American Apparel branch in Silver Spring, which was also showcasing the “Legalize Gay” tees, did have its window broken (but nothing was stolen).

Update 12:00 p.m. American Apparel released a statement on its website about the threats and vandalism:

[N]ot only are they not going to prevent us from speaking out on an issue that is important to this company and our employees but we’ll continue to run Legalize Gay advertisements in papers across DC-Metro area. We’ll also send Legalize Gay t-shirts to any group in Washington DC that is fighting for gay rights and will help support any protest or rally for the cause.

We don’t find this kind of thing funny and we definitely don’t find it intimidating.

Editor’s Note: The following is personal commentary about the University’s treatment of last Friday’s reported rape. It should not be taken as objective coverage of the incident or the editorial position of the Voice as a whole.

Last Friday, a Georgetown student was reportedly raped in her residence on the 3500 block of O Street. So why haven’t we heard that from the University?

In the Metropolitan Police Department’s report, the crime is described as “non-consensual sexual intercourse.” That is rape. That is the dictionary definition of rape. Yet in the Department of Public Safety’s PSA that was posted yesterday, the incident is described only in the vaguest terms as “sexual assault.”

That catch-all term, sexual assault, can cover anything from unwanted touching to, as in this case, rape. There are no details in the entire PSA that convey that this reported incident was actually a rape. Unless you read our coverage, ABC’s or the Hoya‘s, you would have no idea what the extent of this crime was.

Furtermore, except for a line about MPD investigating the incident, the email sent out announcing the PSA is interchangeable with those sent out about less serious sexual assaults, such as the one announcing a PSA about a woman’s breast being fondled. There is no way to discern that this incident is on the far extreme of the spectrum of sexual assault.

While DPS does indeed need to be mindful of balancing the victim’s privacy with the larger community’s need to be informed about public safety threats, this level of obfuscation is detrimental. PSAs about less major sexual assaults—like groping and the “Cuddler” incidents—have included details of what happened. Whether it’s due to squeamishness or laziness, it’s bizarre and inappropriate that they decided to omit pertinent, necessary information when reporting this particularly serious case.

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