Vandals may have struck unit J.
The building, which houses Lambda Chi Alpha, was vandalized by an unknown party Oct. 1, causing damages exceeding $3,000.
Williamsburg police were called to the scene. At the time, all of the fraternity members were at an off-campus event.
Tables and chairs on the first floor of the unit were broken, and there was damage to a glass door, as well as to some ceiling tiles. Police said it appeared as though someone tried to break the first floor glass door with a brick.
At this point the police do not have any suspects, but they are continuing the investigation.
“Until we catch someone we need the continued cooperation of [the brothers living in unit J],” William and Mary Police Department Chief Don Challis said.
Although most of the brothers were off campus during the vandalism, some were on the upper floors of the unit at the time of the alleged break-in.
“[The brothers] were very surprised that something like this could have happened right under our noses,” Lambda Chi Alpha President Griff Almy ’11 said.
Almy was off campus at the time of the vandalism, but was immediately called back to the units. He said he arrived there shortly before the police did.
“I was pretty upset to see all the damage,” Almy said. “Not to my knowledge has anything like this ever happened to us in the past.”
The vandalism occurred on the Friday of Family Weekend. Almy said that the fraternity had an event planned the next morning for the parents of brothers.
“After the vandalism, our biggest concern was that it was parents’s weekend and we needed to have the appropriate space for our event the next day,” Almy said.
Despite several hours of clean-up, the event was ultimately held outside.
According to Almy, Lambda Chi Alpha’s main concern now is the upcoming alumni events at the unit surrounding Homecoming weekend.
“Hopefully, we will have furniture for our alumni,” Almy said. “We have lots of alumni, some pushing 90 or 100 years old, who will need a place to sit.”
During the 1970s, a time when many now-returning Lambda Chi Alpha alumni attended the College, the ground floor of the unit was used as a lounge.
“I recently talked to a brother on our alumni board who was shocked to hear about the vandalism,” Almy said. “He didn’t understand why we didn’t use the first floor [of the unit] more.”
The Williamsburg Police Department encourages students to come forward with any information regarding the cause of the vandalism.
“Without the help of the community we can’t do much,” Challis said. “Somebody out there knows who did it.”
Two additional incidents of vandalism occured on Oct. 4. Damage in Alan B. Miller Hall’s room 2023 was estimated at a cost of $200, while a chair was thrown off the balcony of Yates’ third floor north wing. Its replacement cost was $250. Neither crime was linked to unit J’s damage.