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Student facing vandalism charges for Cathedral graffiti incident

[Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected]

A Pitt undergraduate student faces vandalism charges after spray-painting graffiti in the Cathedral of Learning on Saturday.

Danial Mohammad Khan-Yousufzai, a chemistry and English writing major, faces charges of “vandalism, criminal mischief, and possessing instruments of crime,” according to Pitt spokesman John Fedele

The message left on the wall of the Commons Room of the Cathedral will cost the University an estimated $365.

After vandalizing the Cathedral Commons, Khan-Yousufzai sat on a bench outside the building until next morning, when police found him and promptly arrested him. Shortly thereafter, he posted a $10,000 bond and was released from police custody, according to records.

Khan-Yousufzai didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.

Khan-Yousufzai spray-painted the letters “WRC,” which stand for Worker Rights Consortium. The Worker Rights Consortium is a group that works with colleges around the nation to ensure that the rights of laborers who make college apparel are being upheld.

Pitt’s chapter of Americans for Informed Democracy has been campaigning for the University to end its affiliation with the Fair Labor Association — another labor-monitoring firm — and affiliate itself with the WRC. Members of AID and other student groups — collectively known as the No Sweat Coalition — believe the FLA faces a conflict of interest because apparel companies can donate to it.

AID President Viveka Mandava condemned Khan-Yousufzai’s actions in an email and said he wasn’t affiliated with AID or the No Sweat Coalition.

“Although Americans for Informed Democracy (AIDPitt) is currently working towards affiliation with the WRC, we were in no way involved with this student’s actions and absolutely condemn such vandalism,” Mandava said. “As far as we are aware, the individual in question has never attended our meetings or been a part of our campaign.”

The graffiti painting was made with blue and black spray paint and measured about 12 feet by 4 1/2 feet. Police also confiscated a black Sharpie marker and a 450 milliliter bottle of perchloric acid from Khan-Yousufzai at the time of his arrest. What he planned to do with these items remains unknown.

Many students were unaware of the vandalization of the Cathedral, as it had been restored to original condition by Monday morning.

Sophomore Ashley Byrne, a communication science and linguistics major, said she was unaware of the graffiti until reporters from local media outlets emerged Monday morning talking about it.

“Reporters came out of the Cathedral Monday morning and said that all of the graffiti had been cleaned off the wall and there were no signs of it ever being there,” Byrne said.

Another sophomore, Kelli Edwards, a bioengineering major, said that social networking kept her updated on the developing story.

“The only reason I knew it happened was because I saw someone say something on Twitter about it,” she said.

Edwards was also frustrated at the selfishness of Khan-Yousufzai’s decision to spray paint a wall in the Cathedral.

“It was pretty childish and unnecessary. There are a lot of other ways that money can be spent at this school rather than having to clean up one student’s graffiti in our most historic building,” Edwards said.

[Correction: The article orginally stated that the graffiti would orginally cost the University $65,000 to $100,000. That figure was provided by Pitt’s maintenace and was not accurate. The actual cost of removing the graffiti is $365.]

Pitt News Staff

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