By Amelia Kibbe
Editor-in-Chief
A student returned all of the missing letters from a university sign Tuesday night, said Gary Segrue, director of Safety and Security.
Segrue did not provide the name of the student.
Tuesday morning, university officials alerted the St. Bonaventure community to the vandalism of the west entrance sign at the end of the parking lot behind Shay-Loughlen Hall. The announcement said security continued to investigate the defacing and larceny of the letters S, T, A, V, U, R, E, T and C from the sign.
Segrue said multiple thefts of letters had taken place over the last week. The cost to replace the stolen nine letters, had the student not returned them, would be $1,300, not including labor, making the act technically considered a felony grand larceny in the fourth degree in New York State, he said.
According to Segrue, the student cooperated fully with security investigators during interviews.
However, Segrue said he believes more students took part in the vandalism. He said he believes some of the missing letters had something to do with the names of students who may have been involved.
“I believe there were more students involved,” he said. “The student that security interviewed had possession of one letter at some point. The one student was able to retrieve all nine letters and return them to the Safety and Security office. Obviously there was more than one student involved.”
Segrue did not provide details on how many other students could have taken part.
According to Segrue, students are expected to abide by the university’s code of conduct as well as New York State laws, and students violating those will be held accountable through the university’s judicial process.
“As far as penalties are concerned, a report will be forwarded to the judicial officer,” he said. “The penalties may range from a disciplinary warning, a fine, community service, student activity restrictions, probation, loss of residency, suspension or even expulsion. I believe at the time of the incident it was the student’s first conduct violation, so the penalty should not be as severe. I do not have a role in deciding punishment other than fact finding.”
Segrue said campus security handled the investigation, which is now complete, and he did not involve law enforcement officers.
“The cost to replace the signage was substantial,” said Segrue. “If the student did not cooperate, I could see this play out a different way in contacting law enforcement. The university cannot absorb that type of cost. However, the signage was returned without damage. It will be reattached and there will be a labor cost from our team at facilities, which will be documented in the report.”
He added he has not seen any larcenies such as this case during his tenure as director, which officially began in July. According to Segrue, no security cameras monitor the specific area of campus of the sign. He said it is not cost effective to the university to install cameras in some remote areas on campus.
Segrue asked members of the facilities department to reattach the letters as soon as practical, he said. He did not provide details on an exact date they will be reattached.
He added he believes the act was a prank taken too far.
“I do not believe those who stole the letters considered the ramification of their actions,” he said. “I believe they eventually realized the seriousness of the crime. The ironic thing is that the signage was a gift presented to the university by students.”
kibbeaa13@bonaventure.edu
