COLUMBUS – Vandals spray-painted the stone walls and glued the door locks of Bricker Hall on the Ohio State University campus over the weekend, apparently in protest of ongoing research which involves the use of laboratory animals. Similar graffiti was also discovered painted on a garage door at the Bexley home of University President William E. Kirwan.

University Police said an employee discovered the damage at the university’s administration building early Monday (3/5) morning when she reported to work. Damage from the vandalism was described as minor and consisted of several slogans painted on the walls near the doors and glue forced into the locks of all the building’s exterior doors.

University officials believe the damage is connected to ongoing opposition to a research project which involves the use of cats. The project, funded by the National Institutes of Health, will study a unique viral infection in cats to learn how drug abuse can accelerate the debilitating effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS.

The project will use the cat virus -- feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) -- as a surrogate to HIV, the cause of AIDS. Both viruses cause a slow degradation in the immune systems in their hosts over several years and can lead to the destruction of brain tissue.

“Of course we are unhappy that protests against this study have led to the destruction of public property,” explained Keith Alley, senior associate vice president for research. “However, this work has been reviewed by numerous scientific panels and we believe it may provide important clues as to how we can diminish the effects of HIV and AIDS in humans.”

University Police are investigating the crimes.

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(LO)