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An increase in acts of vandalism on the Hill in recent weeks has the UCLA Housing Administration and the Office of Residential Life staff exploring various ways to discourage such behavior in the residence halls.

Vandalism across the Hill has included the destruction and theft of exit signs, holes punched and kicked into walls, missing fire extinguishers and broken fire extinguisher closets.

The latest incident happened last week when two fire extinguishers were set off in Hedrick Summit.

Alfred Nam, associate director of rooms for Housing, said Housing is now increasing efforts to prevent and limit such acts from occurring.

“We’re working with (ORL) to talk to the residents of each community to work with us to minimize this activity,” Nam said.

According to an e-mail sent out by Hedrick Summit Resident Director Bridget Le Loup to all Hedrick Summit residents, ORL staff in the building are instituting a building-wide “community watch” where students are encouraged to report any violations they see to an ORL staff member.

Tampering with fire and safety equipment, theft or damage to individuals’ or university property and repeated violation of regulations could result in exclusion from Housing, according to the On-Campus Housing Student Handbook.

“There is no pattern to the acts of vandalism and it is not known what is causing such behavior,” Nam said.

Nam said Housing is doing what it can to control such behavior by increasing patrols by Housing and ORL staff in the dorms and by encouraging housekeeping and other staff to be more aware of any possible problems or acts of vandalism in the residence halls.

The most recent incident of vandalism occurred in Hedrick Summit on the night of March 9 when two fire extinguishers were set off in the 8th-floor west lounge and in the north stairwell, causing the fire alarm to be set off at approximately 1:45 a.m., Le Loup said.

Le Loup said residents on the first seven floors were able to return to their rooms after about half an hour but residents on the 8th and 9th floors had to wait until about 3 a.m. because Housing had to wait until all particles from the fire-extinguisher residue settled before the alarm could be reset.

No one has been found responsible for the vandalism in the lounge, Le Loup said.

Some Hedrick Summit residents said the vandalism is due to a rivalry between two of the floors.

Gabrielle Mirsaidi, a third-year international development studies student and resident of Hedrick Summit, said the vandalism with the fire extinguishers is the latest act attributed to a rivalry between the sixth and eighth floors that started last quarter.

“For the most part, Hedrick Summit is a great place to live because it is a community of older students – mostly transfers and returning students – but it is the act of a few ... that ruins it all,” Mirsaidi said.

Le Loup said the rivalry between the two floors is not a destructive one, but rather a healthy one.

She said the 6th and 8th floors have competed in the College Bowl as well as a Summit Karaoke night, which have contributed to the rivalry.

According to Le Loup’s e-mail, “there has been an increase in the amount of vandalism and destruction of property, noise violations and an overall decline in the academic climate of the areas of the residential community in (Hedrick) Summit.”

But LeLoup said the amount of vandalism that has occurred in Hedrick Summit is no different than that which has occurred in other residence halls.