“Shrubbing” vandalism leads to damage of student cars

Vandals are throwing bushes onto Ohio Wesleyan University students' cars in the middle of the night in the Smith parking lot, causing hundreds of dollars of damage.

On December 4 at 2:40 a.m., Josie Stark, an OWU student, received an email from public safety explaining they found a bush on her car. They removed the bush, but the damage had already been done. Stark spent the next couple of days scraping off the dirt and rocks frozen to the car, which left countless scratches on the hood and dents on the roof.

“At a private university with all of these values, it's crazy how people have gotten away with this at least five times that I know of,” Stark said.

She also voiced her concerns that public safety sends out emails about many similar issues, but they have not sent a widespread email about this ongoing issue.

Owen Smith, another OWU student, received $1200 dollars in damage repair after their car had two bushes thrown on it.

The most recent incident was on January 28, when an anonymous student walked out in the morning to find a bush sitting on their car, dirt caked over the windshield.

The “Shrubbing,” as people are calling it, has only happened in the upper right corner of the parking lot.