A small tag on a blue recycle bin, the fresh bitter-sweet acetone smell lingering in bathrooms are just a few signs around campus that graffiti at De Anza College is a surfacing problem.

“We have seen an increase in graffiti over the past few weeks,” said Ron Levine, chief of the Foothill-De Anza College District Police Department.

“Due to the amount of graffiti we have been made aware of, I would say that it is a problem on campus at this moment in time.”

While campus police continue to pour time, money and paint into clean up efforts, the issue of vandalism and how to prevent its spread on campus remains unresolved.

“Graffiti appears to be cyclical,” Levine said. “Sometimes it’s politically motivated, other times it’s gang related (and) other times it’s tagging crews doing their thing.”

“I can’t give you a valid reason for increases and decreases on the campus,” he said.

According to a 2001 study by the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, “buildings with high levels of greenery had 48 percent fewer property crimes and 56 percent fewer violent crimes.”

The study hints at what could be the reason for De Anza’s recent graffiti problem.

“It’s only common sense to realize that our surrounding environment affects our attitude and behavior,” said Vu-Duc Vuong, De Anza sociology instructor.

“This study only reinforces that belief. I’d say that it’s reasonable to expect that if De Anza is greener, in several meanings of the word, graffiti may become less of a problem.”

Almost a year has passed since the large L quad trees were removed and replaced with a few sapplings leaving the area stripped barren and concrete looking.

“I think graffiti comes from people who are bored and want to express themselves artistically,” said Shimena Stokes, a De Anza nursing student.

“I think that if you want to outlaw graffiti you should also provide an outlet for it.”

“I see it all as a crime,” Levine said, “that takes good money away from the educational system spent on clean up efforts, instead of where it belongs, providing quality education and services to the students.”