William & Mary officials sent out a message to the campus community Thursday after words such as “rape” and “rapist” were graffitied on Greek life houses the night before.
Vice President of Student Affairs Ginger Ambler issued the statement after the graffiti had been cleaned off the sides of several fraternity houses on Ukrop Way.
William & Mary Police found the graffiti early Thursday morning, according to Ambler’s statement.
While the graffiti was on fraternity houses, it was also on the fraternity/sorority community building nearby, the statement said.
No particular organization was targeted, college spokeswoman Suzanne Seurattan said Thursday afternoon.
Campus police are investigating the incident.
The college asks anyone with knowledge of the incident to call William & Mary Police at 757-221-4596.
Ambler’s statement is published below in full:
“Dear William & Mary Community,
I wanted to share information about an incident that you will likely see in the news today.
Early this morning, William & Mary Police (WMPD) discovered that nearly all of our fraternity houses on Ukrop Way, as well as the fraternity/sorority community building, had been vandalized. Graffiti on the buildings included “rape” and “rapists” spray painted on the brick exteriors. The buildings have since been cleaned and WMPD is conducting a full investigation. To be clear, damage to or destruction of property, particularly graffiti on our buildings, is never an acceptable form of expression and won’t be tolerated.
Sexual violence and rape are serious issues on college campuses, including ours. While we have made progress at William & Mary, our efforts to educate about, prevent, and respond to sexual violence must and do continue in earnest. Defacing property and unfairly labeling an entire segment of our community is neither an effective nor acceptable way to advance that cause.
For resources, support or information on how to report any form of sexual violence, please visit www.wm.edu/sexualviolence. If you have any information on this incident, please contact William & Mary Police at 757-221-4596.
Ginger Ambler
Virginia Miller Ambler ‘88, Ph.D. ‘06
Vice President for Student Affairs”
