Article By: Ethan Long
A controversial memo was slipped under the doors of all students living in the 150 Tremont St. Residence Hall yesterday morning. The memo, sent by Amanda Grazioso, Assistant Director of Residence Life and Summer Programs, stated that “ALL guest priveleges [sic] will be revoked from the entire building until further notice.” The memo followed one sent out last Thursday, Oct. 29, warning students that if the amounts of damage and vandalism seen this semester doesn’t stop, guest privileges would be revoked from the entire building.
According to last week’s memo, also sent by Grazioso, “The amount of damage and vandalism occurring in this building so far this semester has been unacceptable. Last month, I sent a memo stating the total to be over $2,000.00. Since then, the damage has not let up and the cost has nearly doubled. This price will continue to rise if the damage and vandalism do not stop.”
The memo then went on to list some of the damages the building has seen, along with the expenses it has taken to fix them. Among others, the repairs to walls were estimated to be around $100-400, excluding the cost of painting.
Then, the memo goes on to state that incidents have been reported where students were “urinating and defacating [sic] in common areas.” Due to health concerns, the cleaning of such things requires extra work after hours, including excessive carpet cleaning.
The memo goes on to say that, “this is your home for the next seven months and it is important to hold each other accountable for each other’s actions.”
Yesterday morning’s memo stated, “Over the weekend, not only were signs torn down, but shaving cream and permanent marker were used to vandalize the elevators ($300 cleaning), a stairway railing was torn off ($250 repair), and a shower head was torn out of the wall causing flooding/water damage on at least 5 floors ($800 repair and cleaning).”
Along with guest privileges being revoked as of today, Nov. 4, the cost to repair the damages will fall on the shoulders of all students living in the dorm.
“That’s not even a fair punishment,” said freshman Brendan Clarke as he sat in the 150 Tremont cafeteria discussing the memo with friends over lunch. “My girlfriend comes out to see me, now I can’t see her anymore.”
Along with personal relationships, many now are unable to use the areas they live in to socialize with those outside the dorms. Emilio Brantley, a freshman living in the dorm, told the Journal, “a good friend of mine comes over almost every day, and now he’s not able to come over here.”
According to freshman John Stanton, “My friend’s birthday is next week and he has a friend coming from Arizona next week who bought a $300 ticket months in advance, and now this goes on, he’s wasted his money for nothing.”
The memo states, “No guests, including other Suffolk students, may be signed into 150 Tremont Street.” While this statement, taken from yesterday morning’s memo, seems general, many questions are raised about things such as programs held in the 150 Tremont basement, as well as the students coming from the 10 West St. dorm to eat in the cafeteria.
Neither memo addressed these questions.
The most recent memo ends with, “I strongly encourage each of you to come forward with any information you have about any of these instances of vandalism and damage.”
As of this printing, no comment was received from Residence Life or the Suffolk Public Affairs Office.
