On January 29th at 11:30 p.m., what sounded like gunshots were heard on the EMU campus. It turned out these sounds came from 26 vehicles having their tires slashed. The first report came in from the Harrisonburg Police Department (HPD) at 8:12 a.m. the following morning. 

Since the incident, HPD has also reported that there have been “additional issues in surrounding jurisdictions.” 

According to Lauren Jefferson, Director of Communications, an event like this happened back in 2017. This incident included damage to “several EMU fleet cars and a vehicle belonging to a staff member. No motive was uncovered in the course of the investigation.” 

First-year Laura Craft discovered that her car tires had been slashed while she was in class. A friend went out to check for her and sent her a picture of her flat tire and a card from the HPD on her window. EMU is handling the repairs.

Sophomore Sarah Shank found out about the tire slashings over the Royal Radar Groupme. She woke up, saw the notification, and went out with her roommate to find that one of her back tires had been slashed. “Thankfully, EMU is covering the costs, which I am really, really grateful for,” she said. 

A survey with six responses found that at least three lots were struck: Northlawn, the soccer field, and Hillside. All six participants in the survey reported that only one of their tires was slashed. None had stickers on their cars that were politically charged. 

After Shannon Dycus, Dean of Students, heard that tires had been slashed, she felt it was her duty to lead the university first. Once she let the thought of the act sink in, she had “disappointment in whoever chose to express themselves in a way that harmed other people.” 

David Emswiler, Coordinator of Campus Safety and Security said, “We are saddened that this type of widespread vandalism happened on our campus. We are cooperating fully with HPD.” 

Emswiler said campus security is “increasing visibility across campus” as time allows. The demand for campus surveillance has grown in the past years. They are trying to strike a balance between safety and privacy. “The installation of cameras across campus was prioritized in phases, with the perimeters of campus, open areas, and parking locations on the last phase of scheduled installation.” 

Laura Craft, mentioned in the article, is a Weather Vane staff member.