A random slur written on a bathroom stall, a note carved into a wooden tabletop, graffiti spray painted in an underpass ÷ it might seem like harmless fun to students and community members, but that fun is costing the UA thousands of dollars every year.
"Graffiti like this is very common, and happens on a daily basis," said Deryl Smith, assistant director of landscape management.
Every morning around 6 a.m., campus maintenance crews sweep the UA and try to remove graffiti before it is seen by any student, visitor or faculty member.
Recently, crews were called out to take care of some markings on a phone booth at the Marroney Theater.
This incident took only a few sprays and wipes, but it cost the UA up to $20 for half an hour of the workers' time and the materials used to clean it.
For bigger incidents, removal can take several hours and involves the use of various expensive chemicals.
"Any graffiti is difficult (to remove)," said Christopher Kopach, associate director for Facilities Management. "On a daily basis, we're removing graffiti from bathrooms."
On average, there is at least one call concerning a report of graffiti each day. Cleanup efforts for each incident of graffiti averages $100, but can run as high as $4,000.
Between $3,000 and $4,000 were spent after someone glued door locks in 16 to 20 buildings last year.
If initial attempts to remove the graffiti fail, crews bring in a power washer to remove it. If the area becomes more of a consistent problem, a protective coating, which makes it easier to remove graffiti, can be applied.
Kopach said that vandalism diverts money from grounds keeping and building upkeep in order to clean up offensive material, such as spray paint on brick, replace locks that are ruined and remove offensive materials from bathroom stalls.
"On a daily basis, we're removing some sort of graffiti," Kopach said. "The money we spend on it could go toward making the campus better or more beautiful."
In the past three weeks, there have been four reported incidents of graffiti around campus.
Though graffiti is costing the UA thousands each year, there have been few arrests.
"Unless we have a witness or a report of the activity in progress, there's little for us to go on," said Sgt. Eugene Mejia, UAPD spokesman. "We get a varying amount of property destruction in or around campus."
Mejia said that graffiti is an unfortunate byproduct of an open university.
"With open access to campus, (a vandal) could be someone from off campus," Mejia said. "It is unfortunate we have to deal with it."
Kopach said a large part of graffiti damage costs come from posters and flyers attached to walls and buildings.
Removing glued posters from walls on campus usually calls for a custodian to be sent out. Depending on the severity of the adhesive, the removal could damage the painted surface. Many times the surface needs to be repainted, Kopach said.
Poster removal alone is costing the university thousands of dollars, he added.
Though the task of removing graffiti seems to be a never-ending one Kopach said Facilities ÎManagement remains committed.
"All graffiti is offensive," Kopach said. "We try (to clean graffiti) as soon as possible, no matter what."