College and university campuses often comprise historic buildings, high-tech facilities, and valuable items of all types, from laboratory instruments to athletic gear to rare manuscripts to high-end audio-video equipment. In other words, students are around a lot of expensive and hard-to-replace stuff every day.

As a result, the administrations of these institutes of higher learning take damage or destruction to campus property very seriously. Here's a look at what happens when your actions lead to that damage.

How Is Property Damage Different from Vandalism?

There's a distinction between property damage and vandalism. The former is unintentional; you didn't mean to cause the damage, but an accident occurred. For example, maybe you banged open a door harder than you intended to, damaging the drywall. You slopped black paint on a classroom's tile floor; you tried to execute a fancy gymnast-style flip to get down from the top bunk but kicked and smashed a light fixture during your dismount.

Vandalism, on the other hand, requires intent. To vandalize, the individual must set out to damage property—graffiti is one of the most common ways to commit vandalism. Others include trash dumping, stealing or deliberately damaging signage, writing on a dorm door with a permanent marker, or smashing glass windows.

At Carnegie-Mellon University, damage caused by "misuse or negligence" requires students to pay the full cost of restoring the property, If the damage is deemed to have been intentional, however, or as a result of improper campus behavior, disciplinary measures will likely be taken.

The policy at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, IA, on the other hand, makes no distinctions between intentional and unintentional damage. Their policy reads:

Vandalism, damage to or destruction of College or personal property is a violation of College policy. Students found responsible for acts of vandalism may be required to make restitution and be subject to additional sanctions.

Why is it important to understand the distinction between these two acts and to determine your school's policy on both? Sometimes a student who has accidentally damaged property may be wrongly accused of vandalism. If that occurs, step one of clearing your name is to straighten out this confusion.

Whoops… What Happens Next?

Sometimes you know that your actions have led to damage. Other times, you might not be aware that you've damaged school property. In both cases, you'll likely receive a call or email from your RA, campus police, or other administrators.

At the minimum, they will want to discuss the matter with you. Minor incidents that are fairly cut-and-dried and clearly a mistake might be dismissed with no disciplinary actions taken.

Chances are, though, that you're looking for information about larger issues: serious damage or destruction of property—what the repercussions of your behavior might be. You want to learn whether this incident can be resolved quickly and easily. You may be wondering if this is something you can handle on your own, or does it require assistance, whether from your parents or from the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team (more on this later).

What about more serious damage or destruction of property, though?

The Penalties for Damage to Campus Property

You will likely be asked to pay for repairs or replacement if the damage is relatively minor. That's the right thing to do, in any case. However, it might not be possible to fix the harm you've done.

In that situation, you could find yourself facing a disciplinary hearing.

Depending on the circumstances, if you are found culpable for the damage by the committee or panel present at the hearing, your school could take further disciplinary steps—such as banning you from certain buildings or facilities, revoking your housing privileges, or even suspending or expelling you.

Avoid Further Damage—To Your Future

You only have one chance to explain your behavior or emphasize your remorse at a disciplinary hearing. Be prepared for whatever may happen by consulting with the Student Defense team at the Lento Law Firm. Call 888.535.3686 or click here to schedule an initial meeting.