BY ALEXANDER ROLLE

In print | Published March 5, 2009

Over the course of this year, a Haverford first year residence hall has seen five acts of serious vandalism, including four that involved human fecal matter. On four occasions in the fall semester, residents of Gummere Hall, one of three first year dorms at Haverford, were confronted with fecal matter displayed in public locations. On Jan. 23, 2009, the basement’s bathroom was the location of a race related tagging.

Though rumors swirled that DNA testing might be used to identify the origins of the feces, Haverford is not contemplating any kind of forensic test.

The first incident occurred in mid-September, when residents discovered human excrement smeared on the sofa, coffee table and television in the Gummere basement lounge. According to the Bi-College News, the furniture was initially left undisturbed, in hopes of forcing the perpetrator to come forward, but was later removed by Housekeeping Services for health reasons.

According to an email sent to the Haverford community by Marianne Smith, Director of Student Housing, the items removed from the basement “will not be replaced until  the person or persons come forward to accept responsibility for their actions.”

On Nov. 15, feces was discovered smeared across stalls and mirrors in a Gummere bathroom. A little more than three weeks later, on Dec. 9, feces was again discovered in a bathroom, though this time in a tampon box.

Shortly thereafter, on Dec. 15, more excrement was discovered on the walls of the bathroom. While there have been no other incidents involving feces, earlier this semester two pieces of graffiti were found in a Gummere bathroom. According to the Bi-Co News, a race related epithet, along with a tag, was discovered by a housekeeper on Jan. 23. This cannot be definitively linked with the other incidents that occurred earlier in Gummere.

After the second incident, Haverford Student Council Co-President Will Harrison ’10 told the Bi-College News that the administration would consider DNA testing the feces if another incident occurred.

According to Tom King, Director of Haverford Safety and Security, DNA testing the feces is not being considered for a number of reasons. According to King, not only are DNA tests very expensive, but the process would raise concerns about students’ privacy as well. “There’s no probable cause or even reasonable suspicion to assume it’s even someone from that building,” he said. While King recognized that the perpetrator is likely a resident of Gummere, he recognized that that was only a suspicion. “I mean that’s probably the case, but that and a buck fifty will get you a cup of coffee.”

According to King, the school’s reaction to the incidents has been restricted by concerns about students’ privacy. “We’re limited, and rightly so … we can’t put cameras everywhere, but at the same time, it’s a disturbing thing.”

Though DNA testing is not being considered by the administration or the police, King was not surprised that it was being talked about among students. Calling it the “CSI factor,” King mentioned that even juries are being affected by the cultural phenomenon of scientific evidence, expecting prosecutors to present forensic evidence that is not as commonly used in real police work as it is on television.

At all times, King emphasized that Haverford is trying to find “that balance between finding the person and the campus’ reasonable demand for privacy.”

After the fourth incident, a new page on the Haverford web site was established to allow students to comment anonymously, in the hopes that a tip might lead to the identification of the perpetrator. In an email announcing the creation of the submissions page, Smith called it “something we really would prefer not to have to do in the Haverford community, but which seems to us to be the only way to move forward and to end these incidents for the benefit of all concerned.”

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