Student Group Upset With Vandalism Of Cathedral Of Learning
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Cathedral of Learning was recently vandalized and repairs could cost as much as $100,000.
A 12x4 foot message was spray painted, which point to an ongoing issue on campus.
The letters WRC were boldly sprayed inside the Cathedral of Learning Saturday morning.
Student Daniel Kohn Yousifzei was arrested and charged with felony vandalism because of the extent of damage. According to police, the damage is estimated around $65,000 to $100,000.
Leaders of the Americans for Informed Democracy group at Pitt spoke out Tuesday, calling the graffiti artist a radical and not a member of their movement.
"We're extremely offended at the damage committed at the Cathedral," Viveka Mandava from Americans for Informed Democracy said.
"It's an attack on our favorite building. It's an attack on our University," Joe Thomas, also from Americans for Informed Democracy said. "We would never support such brash and irrational action,"
WRC stands for Workers Rights Consortium, which is a watchdog group that monitors factory conditions where university apparel is made.
Currently, the University of Pittsburgh is not affiliated with them, but with another organization, and dozens of students have been actively pushing since the fall to get Pitt to work with the WRC.
"It's kind of the gold standard in apparel monitoring. So, we would get to know where our apparel is manufactured. How it's manufactured," Thomas said.
In a statement, a university spokesperson said the graffiti has since been removed and responding to the students movement says, "The university is satisfied with its affiliation and has opened dialogue with the student group."
Students with AIDPitt are hoping to move past this incident and continue talks with the University.
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