Last spring when I was in Williamstown, I saw staff from Facilities (Buildings and Grounds in many of our day) spray-blasting pro-Palestinian graffiti off Hopkins Steps. Yesterday, Tuesday morning, November 12, student founds pro-Palestinian graffiti various locations around campus, including the entrances to Thompson Chemistry Lab, Schow Science Library, and the door of Goodrich.
A student from the class of 2025 reported that “Facilities was alerted early Tuesday morning about the graffiti but was swamped with trying to clean it all, some of which damaged campus buildings. They’re on top of it but it’s taking time to get to everything… I just walked past them, repainting the Goodrich door.” (Emphasis added.)
Repainting a door?!?! What kind of paint did the vandals use?
The Record report on this incident includes this:
In an email to the Record, President of the College Maud S. Mandel wrote that the College was not planning to send all-campus communication about this week’s graffiti.
“It hasn’t been a standard Williams practice to send a campus message every time someone makes a report,” she wrote. “We responded by removing the flyers and graffiti.”
We believe President Mandel should at minimum make clear, as she did when students disrupted a panel on the Middle East last spring that, “the matter will be referred to the College’s standard disciplinary process.”
While we want to support the right of those who graffitied the pedestal and door to express their opinions, that support ends when their expression infringes on the speech of others or, as in this case, damages college property.
If it was students who vandalized college property, they should face consequences for their actions. A semester’s suspension should send the right message.
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