Each of the 594 students living in Helser Hall will be fined $5 for recent vandalism to doors in the building. Helser Hall representatives plan to consult Student Legal Services about the legality of the fines.

The vandalism began shortly after Jan. 27, the day the Department of Residence’s 24-hour door looking policy was put into affect.

There were three vandalism incidents in Helser Hall over the Jan. 31-Feb. 2 weekend, said Kate Bruns, communications specialist for the Department of Residence.

A door latch was removed Feb. 1 on a door located in Carpenter House. Maintenance was called and the latch was fixed, Bruns said. The next day, the latch was removed on the same door and maintenance fixed it again, she said.

On Sunday night, the same door had its push bar removed and maintenance again was called, Bruns said. Students were notified there were problems of vandalism with signs posted throughout Helser, she said.

Following the sign posting in early February, two additional incidents were reported before Friday. The same Carpenter House door was tampered with so students could open the door without a key, and a door latch from MacDonald house was removed, Bruns said.

All students, student staff and the hall director will pay to repair the doors, said Helser Hall Director Suzanne Harle in an e-mail sent to Helser residents.

The e-mail was sent Friday and addressed several questions regarding the vandalism, the fines and the residence department’s terms and conditions.

Harle said in her e-mail that an entire hall can be charged a fine because they are part of the community. She cited the Department of Residence’s Terms and Conditions, which states “As a community member, you are responsible for respecting the needs and rights of others. You are expected to participate in keeping the house and hall clean, safe and quiet enough for sleep and study.”

Brandon Judas, Union Drive Association at-large representative, said he believes the action taken by the residence department may not be legal and he is planning to take the terms and conditions to Student Legal Services.

In an interview Sunday, Harle said hall residents can be held accountable and fined for vandalism. She said she met with five other members of the Department of Residence and discussed the different options available for dealing with the incident.

The damages done to the doors in Helser have cost the Department of Residence $1,940 to repair, Bruns said. There is still an exterior door that will need to be completely replaced in Helser because it has been damaged beyond repair, Harle said in her e-mail. A new exterior door costs $3,082, she said.

A total of $5,022, which includes the new door and the previous Helser repairs, is the estimation sent out by the Department of Residence for the Helser vandalism.

The $2,790 that will be collected from students with the $5 per person fine will pay for the damages already done. However, the residence department is unsure of the date the damaged exterior door will be replaced. Students are not currently being charged for an exterior door, but may be charged an additional amount to cover the cost if the door is replaced this year, raising the cost of the per-person fine, Bruns said.

Amanda Terveer, resident of Carpenter House in Helser and freshman in preprofessional health programs, said she doesn’t like being charged, but would fine everyone if she were in an administrative position.

Terveer said she noticed the initial vandalism the day the door-locking policy went into effect. She said “people are sour on the situation” and are trying to show they don’t agree with the door-locking policy through the vandalism.

James Vogl, Helser Hall representative to the Inter-Residence Hall Association, said the terms and conditions should be amended.

“We are members of the community and are responsible to the community,” Vogl said. He also said it would be good if the terms and conditions were amended to specify entire halls can be fined. It would clear up a lot of confusion, Vogl said.

“[The] first time they heard [about the fine], students were suspicious, angry and felt they were getting $5 taken from them,” Vogl said. In talking with students about the reasoning behind the fines, he said he believed residents are beginning to understand.

Sarah Hoelzle, Helser resident and sophomore in industrial engineering, said she had no idea the repairs were so expensive.

She said Harle has been very good in communicating with residents about the situation. If residents weren’t being charged, Hoelzle said she believes the vandalism would not stop.

Bruns also said the Department of Residence will not unlock doors that have already been locked. This is a vandalism policy, not a door-locking policy, she said. The residence department is not planning on revising the door-locking policy because of the vandalism.