A group of students reported offensive graffiti on Beta Bridge to Charlottesville Police Monday, Student Council President Jequeatta Upton said yesterday.
The graffiti images included a woman in a spread eagle pose and a pair of breasts, Upton said, as well as a bloody face with the words, "We'll be back," as well as "GSociety," "GWizard" and "G-Bug."
"That's how it appeared on Monday," Upton said. "On Tuesday afternoon, some parts of the message had been painted out."
Upton, one of the students who originally reported the graffiti, said Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity,Inc. and B.U.C.K.S,both African-American organizations on Grounds, originally had painted two messages on the bridge and that both messages later were spray painted over with graffiti.
Upton said one of the most frustrating aspects of the situation is that no one knows who is responsible for the graffiti or who concealed parts of it.
The Charlottesville Police have turned the case over to the University Police, University Police Sgt. Melissa Fielding said. She said the police learned of the incident Wednesday.
"We are really going to need the public's help," Fielding said.
She added that police have not identified anyone responsible for the graffiti.
"We have taken a report, and we'll look into it," Fielding said. "We are, however, asking for the public's help. We want anyone who has information about this incident to come forward."
Fielding said students can call the University Police directly or Crimestoppers if they wish to remain anonymous.
University Police would not speculate on the meaning of the graffiti.
Upton said after she and her friends reported the graffiti, word started circulating around Grounds about the incident.
"There was a massive text message circulating that 'KKK' was painted on the bridge, but that's not true," Upton said.
Upton said she has been trying to clear rumors that the letters "KKK" had been painted on the bridge.
"No one knew the facts, and people started reacting over rumors," Upton said. "People were scared."
University spokesperson Carol Wood denounced the graffiti.
"I have seen the photos, and they are despicable," Wood said. "Actions like this are an affront to our community and threatening to all of us who live and work here."
Wood and Upton said the University is in the process of taking steps to prevent actions like this from occurring in the future.
"I'm part of a group of students that met with [Vice President for Student Affairs] Pat Lampkin," Upton said. "We were discussing different avenues to keep students safe on Grounds. One of the avenues we were discussing was increasing police patrol around the University and actual presence of foot police around Grounds also."
Wood said preventative measures are on the University's agenda.
"We want to increased security around the University and increased education for our students," Wood said. "I think the more we talk about this and the more students are aware of it, the more likely we are to catch whoever it is that are doing these things."
Wood commended the students who reported the incident.
"Reporting them shows that we have no tolerance for such actions," Wood said. "We must continue to retaliate with our own speech that diminishes theirs. We continue to be disheartened by these incidents, but the fact that they were reported is a step in the right direction."
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