Stanford University is investigating a possible hate crime after swastikas and an image of Adolf Hitler were drawn on a whiteboard outside a Jewish student’s dorm room, the third such incident in the last two weeks.
The student discovered the drawings Friday, the university said. It was the latest of several reported acts of vandalism that included antisemitic symbols and language at Stanford this academic year, Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole said in a statement.
Brubaker-Cole condemned the incident and called it a “brazen threat to an individual student” on campus.
“We wish to be clear: Stanford wholeheartedly rejects antisemitism, racism, hatred, and associated symbols, which are reprehensible and will not be tolerated,” Brubaker-Cole said.
The university’s Department of Public Safety is investigating the incident, which spawned two reports from students in the dormitories. Because the images could have been used to intimidate the Jewish student, they are being investigated as a possible hate crime and the person responsible could be subject to legal or disciplinary action, according to the university.
The student whose dorm room was targeted spoke to the the Stanford Daily, the university’s student newspaper, about the vandalism.
“It’s really making this living situation feel pretty hostile to me,” said the student, who declined to be identified, fearing harassment. “It’s very unsettling thinking that I was in my room sleeping and someone was outside of my door doing this.”
Students who live in the dormitory, Florence Moore Hall, will meet Tuesday to discuss the impact on the community and what steps could be taken to address the fallout.
Officials do not believe this incident is related to two reported hate crimes on Feb. 28 and March 3, in which swastikas and hateful language were scratched into a metal panel and on the wall of two men’s bathrooms.
Both of those incidents were classified as hate crimes under California’s penal code, though no suspect was identified, Stanford officials said.
“Vandalizing property particularly with words intended to threaten and intimidate individuals (specifically in this case Black and Jewish communities) is contrary to Stanford’s values,” the university said in a statement. “It is absolutely unacceptable in our community.”
