Students in search of eduactoin apply here

Dan Hoffman Arizona Daily Wildcat This sign outside of Modern Languages is missing an "s." University of Arizona Facilities Management Sign Shop worker Ron Ramsey believes it may have been altered by "pranksters."

Each month, 20 to 30 university-owned signs are either stolen or cleverly altered by students playing practical jokes, said Ron Ramsey, supervisor for the University of Arizona Facilities Management paint and sign shop.

Most of the pranks involve removing the letters "cl" on classroom signs, he said.

"It really doesn't bother me, as long as nothing happens," Ramsey said.

"Every time they do this, they're raising tuition," he added, referring to the long-term cost of vandalism.

Ramsey said he has a fixed budget each year for sign repair, replacement and general maintenance. Money that could be used for other university maintenance is used to replace the vandalized signs. The added expense, he said, results in a trickle-down effect where students eventually foot the bill.

"Everything comes back to the students," said Bill Florence, a Facilities Management graphic artist.

He said he has even caught a "sign bandit" in action.

"I saw someone carrying a big sign - one of the 'no bicycles beyond this point' signs near the Harvill Building," Florence said. "I shouted, 'Hey, where ya goin' with that sign?' He just dropped it and ran off down Second Street."

Graphic designer Albert Carlon said most culprits are students, adding that many road signs have turned up in fraternity houses.

Carlon blamed campus skateboarders for taking "no-skateboarding" signs.

Carlon agreed with Ramsey that, in the long run, sign theft hurts students more than it affects Facilities Management.

"It's good for me," he said. "I've got job security."

Ramsey said the sign southeast of Modern Languages, which, until two days ago, was missing an "s" on one side, may have fallen prey to pranksters. Students may target the signs denoting university buildings because their letters are easily removed, he said.

"Sometimes they'll change the names of coaches over at McKale (Center) - or instructors that give a student a bad grade," he said. "One time, someone changed the letters on one of the (office) windows of the Education building. They switched the letters around so that the word 'education' was misspelled."

Ramsey said the stolen signs are sometimes sold to scrap yards that recycle aluminum.

Most would-be thieves are discouraged when they find signs made of brick, vinyl and aluminum, which cannot be manipulated or stolen, he said. Ramsey said he and other sign shop employees are sometimes amused by the pranks, but when someone steals a "no parking" or "stop" sign, it's a different story.

Besides paying for new road signs, which can cost up to $120 each, Ramsey said he is concerned about traffic safety.

"Most students don't know that they can be charged with manslaughter if someone dies as a result of (a stop) sign theft," he said.

In Tampa, Fla., two years ago, three 18-year-old men riding in a Camaro were killed when a large truck plowed through an intersection where a stop sign was missing.

Three teen-agers admitted to stealing several signs in the area and were later convicted of first-degree manslaughter and each given 15-year prison terms and five years probation.

Cmdr. Brian Seastone, a University of Arizona Police Department spokesman, said sign vandalism and theft at the UA is "not a big deal." No one has ever been injured as the result of a stolen sign, he said.