Slash: To cut with a violent sweeping stroke or by striking violently and at random, as with a knife or sword.

Property: Ownership; right of possession, enjoyment or disposal of anything.

Let’s see what happens when we put these two words together: To cut with a violent sweeping stroke at the right of possession and enjoyment.

That’s what happened two weeks ago when tires were randomly slashed all over the streets of Lancaster and Clarendon. To say that this pisses me off is an understatement.

‘It was pretty shocking to see so many cars with their tires slashed. said Calyn Wissick who had her tires obliterated. ‘I don’t know what made someone so mad to do something like that.’

I have to agree; it was shocking indeed. It might just be me, but I like to think more productive goals can be accomplished. Walking up and down a street and causing unnecessary anxiety to college students isn’t one of them.

According to the Syracuse Police Department, these acts happened between 9:00 p.m. and midnight. That’s three hours. What else can you do in three hours? A part-time job can be three hours long. An average night of studying can take three hours. A 180-minute nap takes: you guessed it, three hours.

The incident happened after the Super Bowl, and it could have been a random act of hatred after the shocking outcome of the game. If you’re upset to the point that you take your anger out on someone else’s valuable and expensive property, maybe a little less time in front of the TV and a lot more time in anger management would be beneficial.

‘There was a rumor that is was an upset Patriots fan that did it after the Super Bowl, but it’s too easy to blame it on that,’ Wissick , a junior graphic design and psychology major, said.

Fair enough. We’ll throw that theory out the window. Yet I’m still perplexed at what motivation this person or persons had in destroying so many vehicles.

‘I wish I could say, I don’t know. In my best guess, it’s someone who was intoxicated,’ said CJ McCurty, Crime Prevention Manager of D.P.S. ‘I don’t think someone could make someone that angry to slash 30 cars’ tires. I really would like to think they were intoxicated.’

I would like to think so, too. If they weren’t, then it’s utterly amazing what a human being would go through to vandalize just for the fun of it.

If you want to feel good about yourself on the weekends, go out to the bars and make some friends. It won’t hurt, I promise. College students do it all the time.

The classless people who had no consideration for others’ belongings deserve a word exclusively for themselves. The definition of idiocy comes to my mind.

Al Ortiz is a junior writing major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at asortiz@syr.edu.

Published on February 13, 2008 at 12:00 pm