It sounds like revenge urination to us, and a unique way of showing contempt for colleagues that we feel lucky to have never encountered. Imagine coming to work and finding a big puddle of man-pee in front of your office. According to the Los Angeles Times, "In early December, Petrov was captured on videotape urinating on the door of another professor's office in Santa Susana Hall, according to authorities. School officials had concealed a camera nearby after discovering puddles of what they thought was urine at the professor's door, officials said." It seems that Petrov might have an ongoing problem with either retention or rage.
Although the evidence seems strong, Petrov has pleaded not guilty, and there is no sign of him anywhere on the department web site.
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These are moments it makes me think that some things just don't translate across gender. I find myself channeling Kate Clinton's jokes about imagining women "dropping trou" as easily as our brothers. Of course, in the movie, "The Runaways," a young Joan Jett pees on a man's guitar after he harasses her. So, perhaps it works if you are a young female punk rock dyke. Probably pretty unlikely for a female in that prof's age range.
OMG, Joan Jett peeing on a man's guitar is killer (I haven't seen the movie), but some professor dOOd peeing on a colleague's door? I have no words.
In 1963, in the heat of the civil rights demonstrations in Chapel Hill, NC, a female hostile to the demonstrators straddled one and loosed a little yellow stream on him.
Unfortunately this is not completly isolated. I know of at least two math departments who have had active phantom shitters.
I am annoyed on behalf of the janitors who probably had to clean up after this idiot.
My department had a moderately serious incident of vandalism recently. The email that went around informing us of the incident and asking us if we had any information that might identify the culprit seemed to work from the assumption that the most likely culprit was a disgruntled student, but I found myself wondering whether a faculty member, especially a contingent faculty member, might be unhappier than anyone realized (not me, I swear; I actually speak up when I'm unhappy, and damn the consequences. At least it keeps me from skulking around with a can of spray paint). But it sounds like this incident arose out of (perceived) conflict between people who occupy more or less the same level in the academic hierarchy.
Also, second GayProf -- those of us who air our grievances in memos and comments at departmental meetings may be annoying at times, but at least we're annoying our colleagues rather than making disgusting work for the janitors. It's one thing to lose control in one way or another if you're ill, quite another to deliberately create a foul mess and leave it for someone else to clean up.
I would really like to know the sex of the target. Come on, somebody knows...
Jeezus motherfucke, thatte's fucked uppe.
Isn't itte?
TR - re. Petrov's absence from the department's website, he was fired in April and didn't contest it.
Andrea - this story implies the target of Petrov's pee attack was also male.
The most amusing part is that his lawyers at the original hearing were concerned that this case might damage his career and tarnish his reputation. I think that ship has sailed, pal.
Thanks for the leg work, Katrina! You know, it struck me as a male-on-male attack. One of the more common male on female attacks is to nail or tape an unrolled condom to her door (I know three people this has happened to, one was teaching at H*rv*rd at the time.
It's an interesting post.
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