Ryan ChartrandWith both the Cal Poly men’s and women’s basketball home games against rival UC Santa Barbara just days away, the UCSB campus was vandalized Tuesday night by Cal Poly students, the Mustang Daily learned Wednesday.
The vandalism included several graffiti tags, the largest of which being “Cal Poly Rules,” painted in green and gold on a planter outside the Thunderdome, the Gauchos’ basketball arena.
Other instances of the graffiti included “UCSTD” scrawled both in lime-green chalk on concrete and painted in green on a wall.
A handful of more playful tags such as simply “Poly,” “CP” and “Go Poly” were also left in green paint, chalk and glitter around the Thunderdome and the University Center.
The tags, though, were apparently easily washed away or covered, as UCSB officials said Wednesday afternoon they weren’t even aware of the vandalism.
Joe Ballesteros, the UCSB athletics facilities and operations manager, said at about 3 p.m. Wednesday that he was completely unaware of any such vandalism.
“This is college, not high school,” Ballesteros said when asked of past occurrences of such vandalism on campus, which he couldn’t recall.
Alison Cone, Cal Poly’s athletics director, said that she, too, couldn’t remember any such instances of seemingly sports-related vandalism.
“It’s an absolute first,” said Cone, who arrived at Cal Poly in 1994 as a senior associate athletics director and became the athletics director in 2005. “That’s truly not what the rivalry is about. Rivalry is about respecting each other. (The games between the schools) are great opportunities to bring about the best performances. We certainly don’t condone vandalism.”
Cone, who said that she “loves (Cal Poly) students’ enthusiasm,” added that the athletics department has to “help direct it in the most positive way.”
No one from the UCSB Police Department was available for comment.
That the tags were able to be easily cleaned away seems to be supported through a note found early Wednesday morning at the Mustang Daily, apparently left by the perpetrators of the graffiti.
The one-page, typed note, which was taped to the Mustang Daily’s primary entrance, read in large letters, “We want our rivalry back.
“Cal Poly won’t do anything, so we did. Cal Poly spirit is slipping down the drain. Everything used was water-soluble. We are spirited, not stupid.”
Affixed to the unsigned note claimed by no one was a small, paper case holding a CD containing 11 photos depicting the vandalism.
Written upon the case was, “Front page news UCSB 1.15.08.”
The rivalry is unique from others the school may have, Cone said before being informed of the vandalism.
“They’re 90 miles away, our closest neighbor and are an academic school much the same way we are,” she said. “They have very good students, and we compete for a lot of the same students. And we’re two very good athletic programs.”
Cone, who was the director of athletic academic services from 1992-94 at Washington State, compared the legal aspects of the Central Coast fray to those exchanged between Washington State and Washington.
“There’s such a strong student presence that adds to the rivalry,” she said.
“Most of our students show great sportsmanship even though they can make the games rowdy, fun and wild.”
The Cal Poly women’s basketball team will open the doubleheader against the Gauchos at Mott Gym at 4 p.m. Saturday, before the men’s game at 7 p.m.