A recent act of vandalism at Creswell Hall will result in fines for all fourth floor residents – even though no one has been identified as the suspect.

The damages were substantial, said Ralphel Smith, assistant director for University Housing. Smith declined to describe the vandalism but confirmed that the entire hall would be fined.

Matthew Russell, a freshman from Louisville, said there were damages to the bathroom and writing was on a wall. The residents were told Thursday the fines would be less than $5, but Russell said the administration was unfair in the way it handled the situation. He expressed a concern that those punishing the students did not perform an adequate investigation before deciding to fine the entire hall.

“I personally had nothing to do with it,” Russell said. “We weren’t the only people who had access to [the area].”

During a typical investigation, administrators talk to people on the floor and try to find out if anyone saw anything unusual, Smith said. No one has stepped forward with information about the fourth floor damages.

“Part of coming to college is learning life lessons. These freshmen think that inaction to stop a wrong is innocence,” Fidel Agbor, the hall’s resident assistant and junior from Marietta. “With my three years of experience living in Creswell, I know that it is extremely likely for at least one out of 120 residents to either know who did or see the destruction being done in the community bathroom. When they go to the real world, they’ll realize that not standing up/speaking up for your community will have bigger consequences than the ones they will face here.”

Smith said the students were reminded of the community guide, distributed to residents at the beginning of the year, which states residents may be “required to share the expense of repairing or replacing property in common areas . when such repairs are determined to be above and beyond normal wear and tear.”

But students remain frustrated.

“It’s not fair or just,” said Tim Desrochers, a freshman from Alpharetta. “It’s absurd to assume that it would be students on the fourth floor.”

Desrochers plans to draft a petition against the fine and present it to Scott Oliver, the area community coordinator for Creswell. Oliver could not be reached for comment Monday.

The only appropriate solution would be to fine everyone who could have had access to the vandalized area, Russell said.

“Everyone living in the residence hall must take responsibility for the living area … that’s part of what community is all about,” Smith said.

Vandalism is not rare in the dorms and is more frequent at the beginning of the year when students “haven’t learned to respect the property,” he said.