NIU officials clash on the seriousness of damage done to the Gilbert Hall laundry room March 24.

“Someone tried to pry into the washers” and broke the washing machines, said Margaret Phillips, area coordinator for Gilbert and Neptune Halls.

The laundry room was closed that Saturday and reopened March 26 after repairs were made.

Six of the seven washing machines in Gilbert Hall were broken, said Amy Gustafson, a Gilbert Hall resident.

“My repairman said it wasn’t that significant,” said William Herrmann, facilities management executive director for Auxiliary Services. “It only took him about an hour and a half to fix it.”

However, NIU Judicial Office Director Larry Bolles said there was a substantial amount of damage done to the washing machines. “They did a lot of destruction. It doesn’t seem to make any sense,” he said.

Herrmann said he did not have a dollar figure for the damage done to the laundry room.

Gilbert Hall Director Donna Frary confirmed the vandalism but denied in-depth comment on the incident.

Frary said she talked with students and members of the hall council Monday but denied any other information. “I wish I could find out about this,” she said.

“I don’t have the faintest idea what the motive might have been,” Bolles said. “I believe Gilbert Hall suspects they know who might have done it. I think someone saw someone coming out of there.”

The situation is odd because most students know that tokens are used for laundry facilities on campus and money is not in the machines, he said.

If the vandalism was a student act, “he’ll probably go through both (NIU and governmental judicial) systems,” Bolles said. “If it’s a non-student, they’ll probably arrest him.”