Swastikas carved at Rowan dorm - again
One week later, the swastikas at Rowan University reappeared. Swastikas and other anti-Semitic markings were first discovered Dec. 3, carved into wooden doors in Chestnut Hall, a freshman residence hall on the Glassboro campus. That weekend, an email blast went out decrying the graffiti.
One week later, the swastikas at Rowan University reappeared.
Swastikas and other anti-Semitic markings were first discovered Dec. 3, carved into wooden doors in Chestnut Hall, a freshman residence hall on the Glassboro campus. That weekend, an email blast went out decrying the graffiti.
On Dec. 10, swastikas reappeared in the dormitory. This time, instead of being on doors inside a residential suite, the markings were carved into the Sheetrock sides of a stairwell.
"This happened a second time," said Rabbi Hersh Loschak, co-director of the Rohr Family Jewish Student Center-Chabad of Rowan University. "Someone is going around with intention to spread hate. This isn't just some racial thing on a bathroom stall. This is someone that really wants to express hate on our campus."
The email alert this time, a letter from university president Ali A. Houshmand, was even stronger than after the first discovery.
"We will not stand for intolerance at Rowan University," it began.
"At our school, we pride ourselves on inclusivity. . . . Recent acts, shameful acts, have been counter to who we are and what we stand for."
Houshmand mentioned the swastikas, and also photos that resurfaced this Halloween from a university event last year at which some students showed up in blackface.
The photos showed a girl dressed as the rapper Snoop Dogg, along with two other girls as her entourage, all in blackface, a university spokesman said.
"Such events are uncommon at Rowan, and having these occur in such a short span of time is a major concern," Houshmand wrote. "In 2015, in our university, as a community, we will not tolerate acts that not only go against the values of Rowan University but also that are inappropriate and offensive, period."
After the first swastikas were found, the doors were sanded and repaired, and a staff member held a meeting that night with about two dozen students in attendance.
This time, about 100 of the 350 students in the dorm attended a meeting Sunday. Rowan staff held a campus-wide meeting Wednesday to discuss the history of the swastika, penalties associated with hate crimes, and the university's values regarding diversity and tolerance, said Richard Jones, dean of students.
"We have someone on our campus - or maybe someone from outside our campus - who doesn't understand the importance of attending a university so that a student can have a transformational relationship free from harassment, whether it's racial, or religious, or sexual orientation," Jones said Thursday.
"We want to make sure that students understand that the university is responsive, and intolerant of these types of acts, perpetrated against underrepresented groups - that there is no place for bigotry and hate on our campus."
Loschak said he was "obviously horrified" by the reappearance of swastikas but also glad to see the administration acting quickly.
"The school's doing a great job in making this a teaching moment," Loschak said. "They're not taking this lightly at all . . . on other campuses, things like this might happen, but they might get pushed under the rug."
For the Jewish community at Rowan, Loschak said, "the response has to be that we have to step up our game."
That means more outreach and education, he said, and a continued effort to make clear that anti-Semitism is not welcome at the university.
Loschak said in a statement later Thursday afternoon that Chabad would introduce two "major initiatives" next semester.
"We have to reestablish Rowan to be a safe, welcoming place for everyone," Loschak said. "Take back our campus."
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