Get Herald RSSPart-time grounds worker Bernard Ciotti was hard at work one recent morning, clearing the leaves off the paths of the Vartan Gregorian Quadrangle.
All of a sudden, an unidentified person pelted him with a carton of eggs and an apple.
It is a felony to assault someone over the age of 60 in Rhode Island. Ciotti, who is older than 60, requested that his age be withheld for "personal reasons."
"I never expected something like this to happen," Ciotti said of the pelting, which happened last Tuesday. "It makes me feel not secure until they find out who the person was."
Ciotti, who has worked for the University for 13 years, was using a leaf-blower to clear the path in front of the entrance to Josiah's at 10 a.m. "I blew all the leaves into a pile, and they threw half a dozen eggs all over my legs, my pants and the leaf blower," he said.
Another custodian found Ciotti and offered him a cloth to wipe off his hands and the leaf blower, Ciotti said, adding that he continued blowing leaves because he thought the eggs were thrown by mistake because they were still in the carton.
Ciotti was wrong, however. Next, he was hit in the left side of his head by an apple, though another one missed him. "(The perpetrators) threw two huge apples truly very fast, like someone was throwing a ball at 100 miles per hour," he said.
"The apple was so hard. (My head) didn't do damage to the apple. It didn't split or nothing," he added.
The Department of Public Safety and Emergency Medical Services immediately came to help Ciotti, he said, adding that he did not feel the need to go to the hospital after the incident.
Ciotti said the eggs and apples came from the second or third floor of Vartan Gregorian Quad A.
The University has been investigating the assault and plans to follow up with a judiciary hearing if they can pin down anyone associated with the incident, said Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services.
However, the perpetrator has not been identified, she said, adding that "it's not been as easy to confirm as it could have been."
DPS did not return several requests for comment. In addition to the investigation, administrators are planning outreach programming at Vartan Gregorian Quad. "What we've done so far is send a communication to the students (about the incident)," Klawunn said, "but the kinds of things I'm thinking of are programs to review what are the expectations for students at Brown and the types of behavior we hope to see."
The Community Assistants were informed of the incident about an hour after it occurred via e-mail, said George Mesthos '09, one of the CAs in Vartan Gregorian Quad B. Per the suggestion of one of the residents, the CAs have purchased an apology card to give to Ciotti with signatures from the residents.
"This is not the way workers at Brown ought to be treated," Mesthos said, adding that he's "glad to see that students are reacting to this as being unacceptable, even if it is an isolated incident."
Kristina Kelleher '09, another CA in Vartan Gregorian Quad, echoed Mesthos' feelings. "I'm utterly shocked that something like this would happen at Brown. I really didn't want to believe it when I found out."
Kelleher added that she thinks this issue should be addressed beyond just Vartan Gregorian Quad. "Sometimes, people take advantage of how good (the facilities staff is) to us, so maybe more appreciation as a whole could be something that could come out of this," she said.
Students were upset to hear about the assault.
"I was honest to God just appalled," said Chantel Taylor '10, a resident of Vartan Gregorian Quad B. "It just breaks my heart that people would disrespect the custodians who are just trying to do their job.
"Those aren't the kind of people I want to live with," she added.
