Vandals tag school buildings

First day back marred by graffiti around campus

Samantha Neville
CACTUS CHRONICLE

On August 1, students, parents and faculty returned to THMS to find much of the campus, including sidewalks, doors, windows and even the Circle of Life at the front of the school had been vandalized.

The school had been tagged with phrases such as “Seniors,” “Class of 2014,” and “Badgers.”

 Assistant Principal Carlos Armendariz said the vandalism occurred between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., before the first day of school.

He believes someone jumped the fence or found another way onto school grounds to commit the vandalism. 

Dr. Clarice Clash and Armendariz confirmed there were leads on the individuals responsible for the graffiti, but would not comment on anything specific.

According to the TUSD Guidelines for Student Rights and Reaponsibilities, on a scale of one to five (each with increasing levels of consequence), vandalism of school property is a level three offense.

 Because of the scale of the vandalism, Clash said she would increase it to a level four offense, which includes out of school suspension for 11-45 days and would press charges on the individuals responsible.

“It was cowardly,” Clash said. “It was non-badger. Nobody appreciated it, nobody thought it was funny, but it cost the district and Tucson High dollars that were taken away from the classroom. I had to buy additional chemical, (and) pay overtime hours.”

Clash also said that a graffiti specialist was called in from the TUSD facilities department to remove the vandalism.

Clash said that she received several emails from upset parents and students who offered to help clean up, but the volunteers were turned away due to chemicals being used.

The officers of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) at THMS offered their assistance to help clean up the vandalism on their own initiative.

Senior Briana Gonzales, one of the FBLA presidents, encouraged students to respect and take pride in their school. “You don’t have to vandalize our school to be funny,” Gonzales said.

Armendariz said that THMS has never been graffitied on the first day of school before this.