The Peers Educating to End Rape group placed 1400 red flags around the lawns of the Residence Halls last week to represent the number of clients the Salt Lake Rape Recovery Center has served.
A day later, 200 flags were bent out of shape, torn or removed.
Housing and Residential Education and the Women’s Resource Center, who works with PEER, are currently looking for people who might have clues about those who vandalized the flags.
“A bunch were sitting there that had been taken out and moved,” said April Stevenson, residential education coordinator, who was one of the first people to spot vandalized flags. “There were 200 taken out, broken or messed with. They were definitely not how they were when they were left the night before,” she said.
Stevenson said that whoever burglarized them was muting the message they represented.
“I think it’s disrespectful for the individual or individuals,” Stevenson said. “They didn’t respect the property, regardless if it was their property or not. They were there for a purpose. I think it was disrespectful.”
The flags were placed around the Residence Halls to spread more awareness throughout campus since they are usually set in the Free Speech Area behind the Union Building.
The theft took place almost a year to the day when 200 Pride Week pins were taken from the Heritage Center, and two years after Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender posters place around the Residence Halls and central campus were vandalized.
Because there are no security cameras outside the building in the Residence Halls or central campus, clues about a potential suspect or suspects have not surfaced.
Students or staff members with information about the individuals who vandalized the red flags are encouraged to contact housing officials at 587-2918 or the U Police Department at 585-2677.
