At least two Georgetown University students scrawled anti-GW language on walls, doors and an elevator in Thurston Hall late Friday evening or early Saturday morning, said Bob Ludwig, acting director of Media Relations.
The students wrote remarks such as “GW sucks,” “Fuck GW” and “GW is gay” in light blue and black markers on the fifth to ninth floors and and inside an elevator.
Ludwig said a Thurston Hall resident filed the report with University Police at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
He said UPD will review surveillance tapes from Thurston to determine details about the incident, including how the students entered the residence hall. He added that housekeeping has been notified and is cleaning up the graffiti.
Several Thurston Hall residents said they saw students from various universities, including Georgetown, Howard, Maryland and the University of Richmond, in the residence hall from about 11 p.m. Friday to 4:30 a.m. Saturday.
Freshman Conor Tuttle, a resident of room 907, said a Georgetown student asked to use his bathroom Friday evening. Tuttle said he told the student he could not use the bathroom because it was occupied, which angered the student.
Freshman Ethan Bronstein, who was also in room 907 at the time, said the Georgetown student swore at the GW students, but no fight ensued. He said the nonresident approached the room around 11 p.m. and identified himself as a Georgetown student.
Neither Tuttle nor Bronstein said they saw the student, who did not give his name, vandalize property.
Several students said they woke up in the morning to find markings on their doors.
Freshman Russell Solow, a resident of the seventh floor, found graffiti scribbled on his door that he said was not there when he went to bed at 4 a.m. Saturday.
“I feel (the people who vandalized the property) were just being immature,” Solow said.
Ninth floor resident Eric Herscher had the words “GW sucks dick” written on his door. He said Sunday afternoon that the spot had been painted over earlier in the day.
Sixth floor Community Facilitator Cassandra Waite, one of two CFs on duty Friday evening, said Saturday afternoon that no one reported any incidents to her while on duty.
Although Waite said she has not seen any types of graffiti in Thurston before, incidents such as these “tend to be (carried out by) people who are intoxicated and can’t control themselves.”
Ludwig said he cannot remember this type of vandalism in his 11 years at the University.
Although the UPD report pointed to a Georgetown student, several Thurston residents said large groups of other university students were in the residence hall, too.
Residents of the fifth and sixth floors said 20 to 25 male students from the University of Richmond were yelling and knocking on doors from about 2 to 4:30 a.m.
“You couldn’t walk down the hall (because the students were blocking it),” said fifth floor resident Melissa Tyborowski. She and her roommate said the students were yelling things such as “GW sucks,” which caused GW students to yell back.
Several students said the vandalism displayed a lack of respect, and they were disappointed with whoever committed the acts.
” There were a lot of prospective freshmen in the lobby,” resident Don Rothrauff said. “It’s a poor reflection on student life, especially if a GW student didn’t do it.”
–Elizabeth Chernow contributed to this report
