Only at U of T could something start with Funstuff Colors and end with fines and transcript notices.
On March 5, Leo Josephy and Lindsay Fischer mixed paint, dipped hands, and made literally hundreds of handprints around campus to promote EnviroFest. Shortly after, campus police received multiple complaints and spoke with the two.
As of print time, a constable is working out repercussions with the college deans, who Josephy (of Victoria College) and Fischer (of Trinity) say aren’t upset about their actions. Most of the prints dissolved a few days later from heavy rainfall. The two voluntarily went out to clean remnants off vertical surfaces.
With publicly-funded buildings used privately for classes and public roads owned by the city, it’s a headache to determine which jurisdictions could prosecute cross-campus vandalism. Adding to the confusion is our campus’ public statues made out of donations or public funding and designated historic sites with their own vandalism codes. I’m not even going to get into the hassles of maintaining buildings sponsored by corporations.
Someone in building management issued a fine for cleaning up the handprints. Not knowing where to issue it, UTSU received a bill, working with Josephy and Fisher to figure out a solution.
Campus police told the accused that their acts constituted mischief and that they would’ve been handcuffed if they weren’t students. The two say the constables they dealt with were honest, patient, and let them voice their thoughts. What concerns the two is the possibility of being put on conduct probation. Under section B, article three of the Code of Student Conduct, they could get anything from a warning to fines and a note on their transcript. They say they a received a positive response, including prospective students on tours who seemed interested in a much more lively, grassroots image of U of T. But the issue isn’t the cops. When receiving a complaint, they investigate. The issue is what comes next.
Josephy and Fischer seem to be the truest vigilante activists on our apathetic campus, short of the whining, quasi-violent “Fight Fees 14.” Do they deserve fines? Transcript notices? The administrative hell of appealing said notices?
Campus police didn’t get back to The Varsity when asked for data on vandalism frequency, but I suspect it’s not often reported. I also suspect none of the Governing Council candidates who chalked on private and public property had complaints or talks with police. The website of Reeves & Poole, maker of Funstuff Colors, says the non-toxic paint, made of pigment and chalk, is water-soluble. Just as bad as chalk; much better than unsustainable ink and paper pulp if you ask me.
The two told me passersby dipped their hands in and made a few prints. We should’ve examined their fingerprints. I expect warrants for their arrest posted promptly.
