Boston Herald
http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20101214no_bias_seen_in_harvard_books_probe/
>>A mysteriously misplaced bottle of urine and a clumsy staffer — not a hate-filled vandal — were the culprits behind the destruction of three dozen Harvard library books related to gay and lesbian studies, the university said yesterday.
“We have learned this morning that the books, while indeed damaged, were damaged by our own library personnel spilling a bottle of what was reported to be urine that had been left on the shelf,” Harvard College Dean Evelynn M. Hammonds said in a statement. “I believe this is an important new fact in the investigation.”
The 36 books damaged Nov. 24 had caused a kerfuffle on campus over the weekend when university police said they were investigating it as a bias crime.
“Harvard College will not tolerate acts of vandalism, especially those that appear to be motivated by hate or bias,” Hammonds said in a statement over the weekend.
Yesterday, she said the campus police department “is no longer classifying this incident as a hate crime.”
The library had filed a report with campus police on Friday for insurance purposes, Harvard spokesman Jeff Neal said.
“At the time it was definitely shocking because it was presented to me as an act of vandalism,” said senior Marco Chan, 22, co-chairman of the Harvard Queer Students and Allies. “Now I feel much more relieved.”
It remained unclear why a bottle of urine would have been left on a shelf in the basement of the undergraduate library — which can only be entered with a Harvard ID.
“I have no idea—particularly because there are bathrooms on every floor,” Chan said. “It’s just a really odd situation.”
three dozen books? three dozen? and just one bottle of urine? How big was that bottle? Think about it! Three dozen books. A dozen is 12 so three dozen is 12 times 3 = 36. 36 books by one bottle? How big was that one bottle?