On Sunday afternoon I pulled up to the campus ASB ATM to get some cash out. Lo and behold, the ATM was made unusable. The screen and the keys had been completely blacked out with spray paint.

 

My first thought was, who would do such a thing? Maybe it was a gang-related turf war incident. Maybe ANZ didn’t like the fact that the only ATM on Waikato campus was ASB. Maybe it was just some random teenage kids being delinquents. Maybe somebody did it just to ruin the ATM for everyone, including me. Maybe somebody did this to spite me specifically, and it’s blimming working.  My Sunday afternoon mission has been detoured. 

 

After some critical thinking, the most logical explanation for this vandalism would have to be bored teenagers. But that is the most obvious answer. Teenage delinquents have been the scapegoat of our society and National political campaigns all 2023. I refuse to make any assumptions, but I have to wonder if this was an inside job. This is all speculation of course, but with these leads how could you not follow the trail right to our own front door.

 

In regards to the tagging itself, It wasn’t cool art, it was just straight vandalism. This is so very lame. If you’re going to tag up the university campus, I would prefer if you sprayed some cool graffiti art that holds significant underlying messages about society. The mystery of who did it perplexed me.

 

I hit the streets/uni campus to document the vandalism. The spots that were targeted can be identified as:

  1. ASB ATM near the bus stop and the pharmacy. 
  2. The Cow Shed, an abandoned building nobody quite knows why it’s there. 
  3. The Uni Mart.
  4. A random window pane near the old Waikato Print Stairwell. 
  5. Waikato Print stairwell

 

I have also heard fromz inside sources that the Pā was broken into on Saturday night, with the thieves apparently stealing things from the local eateries that conduct business inside the building. We suspect the same delinquents that have vandalised campus are mostly likely the same people who broke into the Pā.

 

Was this a hit from the Village Green shops to sabotage their competition? We have made multiple requests to security to see the footage. They have declined every request we have made to see the footage. What are they trying to hide? Was this an inside job? Is campus security covering up for someone on the inside?

 

Was it Neil Squiggly? Those Warriors supporters go crazy every time they win a game. Was this an attempt from our vice-chancellor to be young, wild and free? I don’t blame him for seeking cheap thrills. Another theory is, this was the work of some out of town students from another university who would like to ignite a turf war. But this seems unlikely because there were no identifiable tags or clues to let us know who it was. If they wanted to send a message, they would have made it loud and clear. 

 

If you have any leads, please do not hesitate to email the Nexus editor with your tips.