By Holly Hunt
Deanna Eakman, the Merrill Hall building coordinator in Helaman Halls, said she enjoyed her job and thought of it is a great service to keep the building clean because it is part of the 'Lord''s university.'
These dormitories are important because they provide an atmosphere for the students to bond and create a safety net to take care of them, said Chris Vielman, a resident adviser at Merrill Hall.
'Dorms are the transition from living at home to living on their own,' Eakman said.
However, a few students take advantage of this new freedom and misuse the buildings for their prank wars between the different floors and halls. A few of the jokes include numerous bottles stuffed into a skylight, furniture stacked or missing, popcorn thrown in the lobby and cookies smashed on the stairs.
Pierce Thiot, 18, a freshman living at Merrill Hall, said he felt bad for the workers because one student left fecal matter in the shower and on the toilet seat as a practical joke during a fire drill. Afterward, in hopes of finding the 'Poop Bandit,' a few 'wanted' signs were placed throughout the dorm.
'If wanted to clean up poop, they could go work at the circus,' Thiot said. ' are ... immature people playing high school pranks.'
Also, Thiot said some boys stole the bathroom doors and shower curtains from his floor and threw them in the mud. A police officer came by to inform the freshmen it was a felony, and a criminal investigation would be performed unless those responsible returned the items. The doors and curtains reappeared shortly after the warning; however, the custodians had to clean the mess, which Thiot said was unfair to the workers.
In another incident, he saw a water fountain removed from the wall and left on the ground disassembled. Thiot said he thought a maintenance man left it unfixed, but he later found out freshmen boys were the culprits.
'I don''t think understand the difference between pranks and vandalism or how to prevent pranks from progressing into vandalism,' Eakman said.
Although some of the pranks are funny, once in awhile a few are destructive, said Melanie Dahlin, the building coordinator for Taylor Hall. However, she also said working with the students is a positive experience.
Jeffrey Pickerd, a freshman in Merrill Hall, said he hopes the boys show more integrity and refrain from negative activities.
The pranks are nothing new. It has been an ongoing problem in the past.
Kendal Nielsen, 23, majoring in facilities management, recalled a few mischievous incidences his freshmen year in 2000.
He said a few guys would buy easy cheese and pop the container with a screwdriver in the public bathroom so it sprayed everywhere. The gooey mess stayed on the wall, mirror and floor until the custodians came to clean.
Also, many posters were taken from the Cannon Center because the boys did not realize some of their jokes were actual crimes. That year someone stole one of the 5-foot plastic soldiers placed in the center each Christmas. It has remained missing ever since.
' should be having fun, it''s college, but when fun becomes destructive something should be done,' Eakman said.
The employees need to help the students grow, so they are ready to 'go forth and serve.' However, it becomes a disservice when they are not encouraged to become responsible adults, Eakman said.