A Colgate student punched holes into the walls at Gate House on Saturday night, November 9. At approximately 10:22 p.m., Campus Safety responded to a student’s report of damage to several walls in Gate House. 

According to Architectural Trades Manager Matt Hill, the perpetrator punched holes in the wall and ripped off bathroom signs on the second floor. Gate House resident and first-year Lucy Nentwick detailed the night of the event.

“It happened at 10:00 or 11:00 at night and I just heard a bunch of boys yelling outside but I didn’t really think anything of it; I hear yelling all the time. Then, a few minutes later, it got super quiet. A bunch of girls came out into the hallway and that’s when everyone saw [the holes],” Nentwick said. “There are two small holes in the landing platform of the stairs, a body-sized hole at the top of the stairs, a hole next to a room and one right outside of the women’s bathroom.”

Gate House resident and first-year Mehnaz Tabassum was not in the building while the incident was taking place, but received texts from Nentwick at the time of the event.

“[Nentwick] texted me saying someone was punching holes into Gate House’s walls. That was the most weird series of texts I ever got from my roommate,” Tabassum said. “Some girls on our floor were dead set on calling campo and telling them about the incident because they didn’t want everyone to pay for the guy’s damages.”

Nentwick said that Gate House residents are aware of the student that caused the damage and that the student’s identity was reported to Campus Safety, but that the charge for the damage will be split equally amongst all residents regardless.

Gate House CLs senior Ángel Casillas, who lives on the second floor, and sophomore Brissa Gaona Rosales, who lives on the first floor, are unable to share any information at this time. 

“Unfortunately, information on the case is still open and due to some other events, my area director advises me that the information is not open for the general student population,” Casillas said.

Architectural Trades Manager Matt Hill confirmed the full extent of the damage done to Gate House walls.

“All the damages that were reported happened on the second floor of the building; seven holes in the walls and two bathroom signs were ripped off the wall. The approximate cost of this damage will most likely be around 2,000 to 2,500 dollars,” Hill said. 

This is not the first time that an event similar to this has occurred at Gate House. Returning seniors in the spring semester of this year caused damage that extended beyond the second floor, as outlined by Hill.

“The spring ‘19 semester damage was similar in nature, but the extent of that damage encompassed the entire building. That damage was repaired prior to reunion weekend,” Hill said.

Hill said that reparations for Gate House are soon to be underway, with much of the coordination being carried out by Colgate’s Facilities Department. He explained it required a lot of internal coordination.  

“For example, determining the trades needed to complete the work, coordinating any special clean up, gathering materials from the warehouse or order from suppliers, coordinating the timing of the work to be completed for as little disruption to building occupants as possible,” Hill said.

“The work is done by our in-house carpenters and painters. Currently, the repair work has not been started and should start sometime within the next week. We have placed the materials orders and can proceed once those arrive.”