By: Rebekka Carpenter, Staff writer

Lebanon Valley College is investigating the priciest case of vandalism the campus has seen in years.

Mary Green Hall received a $3 million renovation over the summer to improve the residence hall for returning upperclassmen. Time and money were spent improving the residence hall rooms, kitchen and even the bathrooms.

On Sept. 3, a resident or resident’s guest vandalized the 3rd floor men’s bathroom. The still unidentified vandal caused more than $2,000 worth of damage to the recently renovated bathroom by wedging a banana in the tank of the toilet, compromising the seal and preventing the tank from filling and shutting off.

Jay Lohman, the area coordinator of the building, described the results of the wedged banana.

“Compounding the matter was an excess of toilet paper and human waste in the bowl, which disallowed water to escape down the drain,” Lohman said.

All three restrooms on the west side of Mary Green flooded after several hours of the toilet filling and not shutting off during the night. Adding to the damage was water in the boiler room and the shorting out of the Simplex Fire Safety panel.

According to Lohman, the cost for repairs will be split among the residents on the third floor. A total is still being worked out and will be announced to the residents soon.

Adhering to Residential Life policies, the total is being split among the third floor and not the entire building due to the unlikelihood that it was someone from another floor who caused the damage.

The incident is still under investigation since no one has come forward or been identified by his or her peers. If someone comes forward, the responsible person will be held accountable for the cost of the damage and charged with vandalism.

“The outcome of that charge would be dependent upon what we learn, but the consequences could be severe,” Michael Diesner, Director of Residential Life, said.

Residential life is hoping to find the person who is responsible before everyone on the floor is forced to incur the cost of the repairs.