Arizona Daily Wildcat

Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Jacob Rader Architecture juniors Adam Strauss, Derek Butvin and Chad Nielsen eat outside the Architecture building Monday afternoon. The building has been subject to BB gun attacks throughout the year, most recently on March 9.

Just when the UA College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture thought its troubles were over, four windows in the Architecture building were shot and broken March 9, ending a three-month break in the building's vandalism troubles.

Three 4-foot-by-9-foot and one 18-foot-by-9-foot dual glass window panes were damaged on the new expansion, according to police reports.

Two men were arrested in December in connection with a window shooting Dec. 8, said Sgt. Eugene Mejia, public information officer for the University of Arizona Police Department.

Police are not sure of the type of weapon used to damage the windows, but know it was a semi-automatic BB gun that had the potential of firing multiple rounds, Mejia said.

Each window costs about $3,000 and takes about three weeks to replace, said Charles Albanese, dean of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. He said the second pane of glass has never been broken and thankfully nobody has been hurt.

A total of 41 windows have been broken from vandalism in the past 20 months, Albanese said.

Cameras were installed at the beginning of the semester, and were active for the last incident, and police are reviewing the tapes, Albanese said.

"It's not only disappointing, it's very frustrating," Albanese said.

He said the building is frequently occupied all night long.

"People are in there all night, 24/7," said Tracy Grice, an architecture senior. "It's a very open environment."

Federico Peralta, an architecture senior, has been in the building twice when windows were shot at.

"I'm used to it," Peralta said.

He said he thinks people continue to shoot out the windows because they think it's fun.

"After a while people race toward the windows trying to catch them," Grice said. "It's kind of crazy. We thought it was over with."

Albanese said he keeps a cup of broken glass in his office.

"It reminds me of the weakness of some individuals - that they have to endanger students," he said. "It's such a selfish act and it scared the heck out of people."

UAPD has no update on the last incident, but are still investigating, Mejia said.

"We rely heavily on involvement and reporting," Mejia said. "That's how we caught them the last time."

Mejia said the consequences for the crimes could be a felony charge including jail time and financial penalties.

"In cases like this, our community plays an important role," Mejia said, and stressed the importance of reporting any information.

"I think it's very frustrating for law enforcement and also building managers and students," Mejia said.

"The students are really mad," Albanese said. "The students are more determined than anyone. They're not going to stand for it."

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