"This sucks," SGA Vice President Katie Unsworth '10 said, describing the ongoing vandalism problem on the Hill. Unsworth was one of several speakers who addressed a crowd of students and faculty in Lorimer Chapel on Tuesday, December 1, for a discussion on "what it means to be in community at Colby." Other speakers included SGA President Jake Fischer '10, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Jim Terhune, CA of Woodman Elizabeth Eaton '11, Assistant Catholic Chaplain Brother Rex Anthony Norris and Professor of Biology and AMS faculty resident Paul Greenwood.

The meeting was called after the custodian who tends to the chapel discovered that the organ cover had been broken off and an unwrapped, but unused condom had been left on the floor. The custodian went outside at 4:10 a.m. on Saturday, November 21 immediately after she made the discovery, and saw a group of students who, upon seeing her, scattered. She was unable to identify any of the students.

Terhune, Fischer and Unsworth all aimed the focus of their talks towards what it will take for College students to take ownership of their space: the grassroots level at which they hope to see students hold each other accountable for their actions.

Norris and Greenwood echoed the other speakers' sentiments, but also stressed the importance of students making a positive mark on their time on the Hill and understanding the long-term effects of what they can do here.

"When you joined on at Colby, Lovejoy's history became part of your history; beer die became part of your history," Norris said. "Now we will have a history that we will leave for the young men and women who will come after us. What we want to pass on is not broken pipe organs or graffiti, but what we want to pass on is what we've learned, something that will be good for the community that comes after you."

No students have reported any suspects to the administration, nor have any students come forward to accept responsibility.

"We've see some things that have troubled us," Terhune said in summary. "But there has also been a lot of positive things happening in the community. This is part of a continuum, part of a process."

While the financial cost of dorm damage is roughly the same as it was at this point last year, there have been several examples of extremely destructive behavior this semester, including a bench in front of Miller being torn out and a couch being thrown off the roof of Heights.