Softball players arriving at Shaw Field on April 4 found the outfield fence completely dismantled and strewn about the field with several broken panels.

According to Director of Campus Security Terry Gorman, there were several parties on and in the vicinity of campus the evening of April 3. At approximately 2 a.m., after responding to calls to break up the on-campus parties, security officers saw people taking apart the fence and pursued them. Security officers were unable to catch the vandals.

Softball team co-captain Caitlin Adams ’04 said that the damage is discouraging for the team. “I think it is pretty disheartening,” she said. “We got to the field Sunday morning and the fence was everywhere. When that happened, we felt like there was no support for us on campus.”

Gorman and softball coach Tom Cross suspect there were students involved in the vandalism. “At this point there are no suspects,” Gorman said. “We think it is students but we don’t know who.”

According to Athletics Director Irv Cross, the vandals did an estimated $2,000-3,000 in damage. They broke several fence panels, which cost about $120, and stole the signs marking the number of feet from home plate to the fence. Several of the stakes that hold the fence in place were also stolen.

Irv Cross expressed disappointment about the vandalism. “I’ve been here five years and something like that has never happened,” he said. “People who have been here much longer than me have never seen something like that at Macalester. The act over the weekend was immature and irresponsible.”

Tom Cross said that he is upset at the disrespect the vandals showed. “We have a beautiful ballpark that the whole community uses,” he said. “It is disappointing to see such destruction. [The vandals] shouldn’t be in college. They should be someplace else.”

According to Gorman, security officers monitor the area around Shaw Field, but it is a location where two routes intersect and there are not officers regularly stationed at the field. He said that the college will try to have more officers patrolling the area in the future, but the size of the college and the small number of security officers may make this difficult.

Irv Cross said that there has been some competition among various sports teams for field space in the past, but that the Athletic Department has tried its best to address these concerns. In particular, the Frisbee team and the rugby team, both of which practice on Shaw Field have taken issue with the fence.

“We have scheduling issues throughout the department for all of our facilities, whether indoor or outdoor,” Irv Cross said. “Everyone gets out of class at the same time and wants to use the same facilities, so we schedule.”

Other sports teams use Shaw Field for practice space at other times during the year. However, because the fence surrounding the softball field takes up so much of the field, these teams must find alternate spaces to practice during softball season.

The Athletic Department has arranged for the rugby team to practice on the south side of Shaw Field and for the club Frisbee team to practice on the football field during softball season.

Irv Cross said that there are many avenues students may use to address problems they have. “At Macalester, we make a real effort to listen to students concerns,” he said. “There is no need ever for the vandalism that happened. The damage to the field did more harm than good.”

Adams said that the Macalester community so far has dealt pretty well with having a removable fence.

“It is NCAA regulation that you have to have a fence to play,” she said, “So far there has been good cooperation between the school and us to have a removable fence that can be taken down for events like Springfest. But we need a field, and the center of campus is where it happens to be.”

Irv Cross said that Macalester will continue to investigate the incident until the responsible party is found.