All students understand the struggle of finding a clean bathroom stall on campus. Oftentimes, toilets are left unflushed, seats are dirty, or the room itself smells so unbearable it's almost better to hold it in. For students in Graham and McMichael residence halls, the issue has gone from an inconvenience to a biohazard. An anonymous serial offender, dubbed the “Skidmark Skater” by YikYak users, turned the entirety of the second-floor bathroom in Graham Hall into their personal toilet.
It began on Homecoming weekend, according to second floor RA, Jamison Reis, who found the original pile of evidence left on the bathroom floor of a second-floor stall. “I came back from Phi Delt’s tailgate and went to use the bathroom, opened the stall, and there was just poop all over the floor,” said Reis. Reis described the initial pile of evidence looking comparable to that of an animal, such as a dog, but upon examination of the camera footage, it was discovered that there was no animal present in the building during Homecoming weekend.
The Skidmark Skater struck two more times that week, once in the dead of night around 4 am and again later the next afternoon. Reis speculates that the third incident could have been in retaliation due to a threat of maintenance fines placed on the second floor by residence life. After the second incident, the Head Resident sent a message stating that if someone were to relieve themselves on the second-floor bathroom floor again, each person living on the floor would be facing a $20 fine. Reis stated that less than 12 hours later, another pile of poop was discovered.
Graham Hall isn’t the only building that has become a victim of destructive defecation. McMichael Hall has dealt with issues involving their own Skidmark Skater. McMike Head Resident, Dawsyn Wilson described her experience with the Skidmark Skater as “frustrating.”
“You’d think upperclassmen would understand on-campus policies and rules, but behavior has shown otherwise. Because we’ve had incidents there of improper use of bathrooms and facilities,” said Wilson. As HR, Wilson was responsible for dealing with two incidents allegedly involving human feces, including a pile left in a basement trash can, and a situation where it was smeared all over the bathroom walls. It’s Wilson’s belief that the McMike Skidmark Skater’s second incident might’ve been in retaliation for residential policies put in place by building staff.
These incidents have caused uproar in the buildings as non-guilty residents have been fined for the actions of one of their anonymous neighbors. “I’ve had several residents contact me via email or face-to-face, discussing their frustrations with the behavior and the frustration of being also punished for something they're not doing. And it frustrates me too, to fine the entire building for the actions of one or few people,” said Wilson.
While there is no confirmation on the identity of the Skidmark Skater(s), Res Life staff have their speculations, which they’ve decided to keep private due to confidentiality policies. Both Graham and McMike have threatened their residents with further fines if the incidents continue, but as of now, there have been no further developments.
Residents are advised to use proper bathroom etiquette in their buildings and to be respectful of their neighbors and communal spaces to avoid excessive cleaning and maintenance charges to their student accounts.