Graffiti at University Park
Frances McClellan: Patrol Sergeant for the Pennsylvania State University Police
By Christy Mihalenko I 10/21/12
Frances McClellan is a patrol sergeant with the Penn State University Police. In school she worked as a student police officer for Penn State Harrisburg. Nine years after graduating a year early from Penn State Harrisburg with a criminal justice degree, she works on Penn State University Park’s force, supervising a four-officer patrol shift. McClellan is now working towards a master’s degree in public administration in between patrolling campus on foot, mountain bike, or by car, as well as supervising other officers. She also presents education programs to the local community of State College about drug and alcohol awareness, sexual-assault awareness, and surviving an active shooter. Being an active community member and avidly involved around the University Park campus McClellan was more than happy to answer questions about graffiti on campus. Greeting me with a broad smile and welcoming dark eyes she ushered me into her office. Dressed not in officers’ apparel, but in a cozy brown sweater over long-sleeves and black slacks, her authority was no less pronounced. In her mid-30s, she is one of the younger members of the force; she commanded respect, but with a grin. McClellan looked at me kindly with her brown hair falling over her shoulder, her fuzzy sweater draped over her curved silhouette, ready to begin the interview.
Q: How often is graffiti reported at University Park?
A: From January 1st until October 9th of 2012 there were 11 accounts of graffiti. Three of them were in March and another three were in July. There is really no specific pattern of occurrences. Incidents occur during the year and during the summer.
Q: Does the University Police take graffiti as a serious issue?
A: Fortunately, it’s not usually derogatory or biased in anyway and we don’t have much gang action here so it’s not threatening. It’s usually symbols. We did have an incident where we had students create graffiti opposing the use of coal. That was a public statement on the west power plant on campus off of Burrows Street 2 years ago.
Q: How does our University Park campus compare to campuses closer to big cities in terms of graffiti?
A: They might have more incidents of tagging because of gangs and affiliated gangs in that area. We don’t have a lot of gangs in this area so we don’t see a lot of graffiti pertaining to that. There was a military tank shooting doves out of it on a side walk once. We thought it was a statement about war and peace but no one took responsibility for it so we couldn’t say for sure.
Q: Is it only students who paint graffiti?
A: We have people within the community that come on to campus but it’s difficult to say whether its students or residents. We did have on incident 3 years ago where a visitor of a student from out of the area that did extensive graffiti at East Halls. We found out that this person had been arrested multiple times in his home town for tagging.
Q: Are the people that put up the graffiti ever caught?
A: Sometimes we are fortunate enough to find the people.
Q: How do you catch them?
A: We do campus wide crime alerts and then we get tips. We also knock on different doors at residence halls near the graffiti and see what people have seen. With the East Halls incident the kid walked by with his hands covered in marker so it was easy to spot that he was the perpetrator. Sometimes to avoid being caught they’ll put magnets on the bottom of the can so you don’t hear the ball rolling around. We’ve seen many tricks like this but it’s hard to get the graffiti off of your hands and it smells!
Q: If they are caught what are the penalties?
A: There are a lot of different possibilities. Institutional vandalism is one, criminal mischief is another one. The severity of those depends on the cost of repairs for whatever was damaged. If the person is a student they are referred to the Office of Student Conduct and they will face sanctions with the university as well.
Q: What happens if you are a multiple time offender?
A: It depends on the severity. The grading of the offense on the criminal side can be a misdemeanor or a felony of the 3rd degree for institutional vandalism if the damage is over $500. If it’s less than $500 then it’s a misdemeanor of the 2nd degree. With criminal mischief it’s a felony of the 3rd degree if more than 5000 dollars in property is damaged, if its more than $1000 it’s a misdemeanor of the 2nd degree, it’s a misdemeanor if the 3rd degree if its more than $500, or a misdemeanor of the 3rd degree its over $150 for graffiti and anything under $150 is a summary offense. The District Attorney deals with the sanctioning. They will look at all the sentencing guidelines and figure out how they will deal with the offense. For the summary offense they can either plead guilty or not guilty. If they plead guilty they just pay the fines and any restitution. Above a summary they would be required to go to court. The university does things differently. There can be a notation or transcript notations for more severe notions to note that the student has had disciplinary issues. There can also be expulsion for a certain period of time. But this is not specific to graffiti. Any form of serious misconduct can lead to disciplinary actions such as these.
Q: Do you think graffiti is always a form of vandalism?
A: If it’s on someone else’s property and they are altering the property of another without permission than yes. There are certainly murals that are allowed and are beautiful pieces of art but only if they are allowed to be there. Some of the art is unreal and incredible.
Q: What connotations come with the graffiti found on campus?
A: We’ve seen with the case in the dorms just drawing of stick figures and smiley faces. We’ve also seen things like the tank shooting doves. Our most recent incident was somebody decided to put a very large penis on the side of one of the green houses. That is the most prevalent types of graffiti that are usually found in the dorms.
Q: Is the graffiti ever left up and not removed?
A: It’s always been cleaned up by the Office of Physical Plant.
Q: If it were an artful piece do you think it would be appropriate to leave it up?
A: I think that people would admire it for the piece that it was, but I think because it was not planned the university would have it taken down.
Q: How quickly is the graffiti taken down?
A: Usually within a day or so. They are usually pretty quick. When there is chalk on the side walk we don’t consider that graffiti and the rain washes it away.
Q: How is the graffiti removed?
A: It’s removed by a power sprayer out doors and indoors they use an indoor cleaner.
Q: Who removes it?
A: OPP is responsible for the cleanup and then they let us know what the cost of the cleanup was in case we identify a suspect.
Q: Where is graffiti most common on campus?
A: I don’t think there is a common place. It really pops up everywhere. If it’s big they usually put it up at night and where there is not a lot of pedestrian traffic.
Q: What types of graffiti are common on campus?
A: Unfortunately, the male genital is the most common theme. It’s been found in the dorms within the elevators and on the walls. They are drawing what they are thinking with hahaha.
Q: Is there a certain personal whose work is found in multiple places and keeps reoccurring on campus like a trend?
A: I don’t think we’ve seen a lot of one specific thing more than others or anybody taking responsibility for more than one thing.
Q: How often is graffiti reported at University Park?
A: From January 1st until October 9th of 2012 there were 11 accounts of graffiti. Three of them were in March and another three were in July. There is really no specific pattern of occurrences. Incidents occur during the year and during the summer.
Q: Does the University Police take graffiti as a serious issue?
A: Fortunately, it’s not usually derogatory or biased in anyway and we don’t have much gang action here so it’s not threatening. It’s usually symbols. We did have an incident where we had students create graffiti opposing the use of coal. That was a public statement on the west power plant on campus off of Burrows Street 2 years ago.
Q: How does our University Park campus compare to campuses closer to big cities in terms of graffiti?
A: They might have more incidents of tagging because of gangs and affiliated gangs in that area. We don’t have a lot of gangs in this area so we don’t see a lot of graffiti pertaining to that. There was a military tank shooting doves out of it on a side walk once. We thought it was a statement about war and peace but no one took responsibility for it so we couldn’t say for sure.
Q: Is it only students who paint graffiti?
A: We have people within the community that come on to campus but it’s difficult to say whether its students or residents. We did have on incident 3 years ago where a visitor of a student from out of the area that did extensive graffiti at East Halls. We found out that this person had been arrested multiple times in his home town for tagging.
Q: Are the people that put up the graffiti ever caught?
A: Sometimes we are fortunate enough to find the people.
Q: How do you catch them?
A: We do campus wide crime alerts and then we get tips. We also knock on different doors at residence halls near the graffiti and see what people have seen. With the East Halls incident the kid walked by with his hands covered in marker so it was easy to spot that he was the perpetrator. Sometimes to avoid being caught they’ll put magnets on the bottom of the can so you don’t hear the ball rolling around. We’ve seen many tricks like this but it’s hard to get the graffiti off of your hands and it smells!
Q: If they are caught what are the penalties?
A: There are a lot of different possibilities. Institutional vandalism is one, criminal mischief is another one. The severity of those depends on the cost of repairs for whatever was damaged. If the person is a student they are referred to the Office of Student Conduct and they will face sanctions with the university as well.
Q: What happens if you are a multiple time offender?
A: It depends on the severity. The grading of the offense on the criminal side can be a misdemeanor or a felony of the 3rd degree for institutional vandalism if the damage is over $500. If it’s less than $500 then it’s a misdemeanor of the 2nd degree. With criminal mischief it’s a felony of the 3rd degree if more than 5000 dollars in property is damaged, if its more than $1000 it’s a misdemeanor of the 2nd degree, it’s a misdemeanor if the 3rd degree if its more than $500, or a misdemeanor of the 3rd degree its over $150 for graffiti and anything under $150 is a summary offense. The District Attorney deals with the sanctioning. They will look at all the sentencing guidelines and figure out how they will deal with the offense. For the summary offense they can either plead guilty or not guilty. If they plead guilty they just pay the fines and any restitution. Above a summary they would be required to go to court. The university does things differently. There can be a notation or transcript notations for more severe notions to note that the student has had disciplinary issues. There can also be expulsion for a certain period of time. But this is not specific to graffiti. Any form of serious misconduct can lead to disciplinary actions such as these.
Q: Do you think graffiti is always a form of vandalism?
A: If it’s on someone else’s property and they are altering the property of another without permission than yes. There are certainly murals that are allowed and are beautiful pieces of art but only if they are allowed to be there. Some of the art is unreal and incredible.
Q: What connotations come with the graffiti found on campus?
A: We’ve seen with the case in the dorms just drawing of stick figures and smiley faces. We’ve also seen things like the tank shooting doves. Our most recent incident was somebody decided to put a very large penis on the side of one of the green houses. That is the most prevalent types of graffiti that are usually found in the dorms.
Q: Is the graffiti ever left up and not removed?
A: It’s always been cleaned up by the Office of Physical Plant.
Q: If it were an artful piece do you think it would be appropriate to leave it up?
A: I think that people would admire it for the piece that it was, but I think because it was not planned the university would have it taken down.
Q: How quickly is the graffiti taken down?
A: Usually within a day or so. They are usually pretty quick. When there is chalk on the side walk we don’t consider that graffiti and the rain washes it away.
Q: How is the graffiti removed?
A: It’s removed by a power sprayer out doors and indoors they use an indoor cleaner.
Q: Who removes it?
A: OPP is responsible for the cleanup and then they let us know what the cost of the cleanup was in case we identify a suspect.
Q: Where is graffiti most common on campus?
A: I don’t think there is a common place. It really pops up everywhere. If it’s big they usually put it up at night and where there is not a lot of pedestrian traffic.
Q: What types of graffiti are common on campus?
A: Unfortunately, the male genital is the most common theme. It’s been found in the dorms within the elevators and on the walls. They are drawing what they are thinking with hahaha.
Q: Is there a certain personal whose work is found in multiple places and keeps reoccurring on campus like a trend?
A: I don’t think we’ve seen a lot of one specific thing more than others or anybody taking responsibility for more than one thing.