Army employees were startled Monday afternoon when a brick crashed through the window of the campus Army Recruiting Station, 73 University Square, around 2:30 p.m.
Army officers were in the building when the window shattered, but were unable to catch the vandal.
According to Sergeant First Class Bruce Bovenkerk, station commander for U.S. Army Recruiting, the vandalism was not the first of its kind at the Army Recruiting Station.
Our window has been broken many times,\ Bovenkerk said. ""It's part of the job. We've got insurance and they cover it. So nobody got hurt and nobody got injured. We board it up and put a new one in. It's business as usual.""
Authorities do not yet know who is to blame for the broken window. Paul Pryse of Stop the War cautioned against blaming liberal campus groups without evidence.
""First they are assuming that they are protesting the war,"" Pryse said. ""Maybe it was just some kids looking for trouble.""
According to Sergeant Rachel Peterson, Madison police are in the process of looking into the broken window and has specific guidelines for dealing with vandalism.
""We would have to be doing something in conjunction with the military base to find any type of forensic information, fingerprints, any way of determining any forensic information of the damage,"" Peterson said. ""We would rely on any witness statements and descriptions of suspects, like what they were wearing, or whether they were on foot or in a car.""
The Army Recruitment Center is often a target of anti-war protests due to its location and accessibility to campus.
""It's one of the main institutions of the military that is on our campus,"" Pryse said.
""It is something that we as students can affect directly. As of now, ROTC's function is to train officers to go and fight in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and possibly future wars,"" he added.
Stephanie Jung of Stop the War said the broken window could give the Madison anti-war movement the spark it needs.
""It is going to take more than people rallying on Library Mall,"" Jung said. ""I think actions that will eventually get people onto the streets are what we need. I think this action could be something like that."" Jung added that her opinions are independent of Stop the War.
""We don't advocate destruction of property,"" Pryse said. ""It's inappropriate.""
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