Students walking to campus the morning of Freshman Convocation caught sight of what appeared to be brazen vandalism: the words “Koon Dawgs” painted in enormous letters on the side of the Koon Residence.
The ringleader of the infamous gang of taggers was none other than Ben Holscher, the men’s senior speaker for freshman Convocation that afternoon.
“We wanted to make the dorm a little more manly, since there would be guys living there, so I called Chief and asked if we could paint something on the dorm, and he said yes,” said Holscher. “Unfortunately, he thought we meant on the inside.”
The trouble started the day prior to freshman Convocation, when Ben Holscher and fellow Koon resident assistants Dakota Michael, Lincoln Reed, Spencer Doan, and Tim Allen began painting “Koon Dawgs” in black on the pink outer wall of the dorm.
“The most hilarious sight was Lincoln and me standing on top of Dakota’s van painting,” said Holscher. “The new students who were arriving — and most of their parents — thought it was awesome.”
Chief Administration Officer Rich Péwé ultimately made the call to take the painting down.
“You never want to have graffiti like that on a college campus. It just leads to more of that stuff, so it’s not something you’d ever approve doing,” he said.
Holscher is no stranger to campus security. In addition to working for them, he was busted once before on a paint-related charge in the Fall of 2012.
Holscher led a Galloway Residence raid against Simpson Residence. The trail of destruction left in the wake of the Holscher gang included an enormous Galloway “G” spray-painted on one of Simpson’s inner walls.
“He’s a vandal,” said Dakota Michael, who also assisted with the “Koon Dawg” painting. “But actually, it was awesome.”
Associate Dean of Men Jeffery Rogers said he initially thought the painting was duct tape on the outside of the building.
“I drive in early, and I had to do a double take… I looked again and I’m like, nah, that ain’t duct tape, that’s paint, and it’s big! It’s not like it was little!”
Rogers said if the painting had stayed it would have led to similar defacing all over campus. “What are we gonna call Mac? Queen Dawgs?” he said. “We can’t have that kind of stuff.”
Rogers said the incident could be chalked up to a simple miscommunication between well-meaning students who are “really good guys.”
