by Sara Millhouse
—additional information gathered by Cassie Donnelly
Early Sunday morning, students in Lazier Hall found swastikas drawn in black Magic marker on the shower, mirrors and walls of a first floor bathroom. Swastikas were also drawn on posters and windows in the entrance and computer lab.
In the South Campus loggia, swastikas were found on a Disco flyer and on a campaign poster. A swastika was also drawn on the door of Nollen House, which houses the office of the president and other administrative offices. Some students who live off-campus reported finding swastikas drawn at their house, according to Security.
Swastikas were first sighted at 2 a.m., said Adam Brumer ‘07, but it took until 10 p.m. for students to organize in response to the incidents. “It’s just odd because if they were indeed there at 2 o’clock in the morning, and obviously if you’re going to the bathroom or going to the computer lab throughout the day, why wouldn’t you take it down … or why didn’t you report it?” said Leah Rosenbaum ‘08.
Rosenbaum described her initial reaction as anger. “Irina [Usherenko ‘08] was really upset by it, close to tears, and I was more angry, because I couldn’t believe that somebody on our campus would actually have the nerve to do that,” she said. “After I found out about the nation-wide stuff that’s going on, it turned into more scared, because as a Jewish student, it’s scary how much anti-Semitism there is.”
A couple of hours later the students, including Brumer and Rosenbaum, sent an email to campus groups and individuals calling to “mobilize this campus.”
“Even if it was just intended as just a crappy joke, it’s serious, because it’s such a strong hate symbol,” said Brumer. “And we don’t take it as a joke.”
“I think there are people on this campus who just don’t understand there were people who were really hurt and really threatened by that,” said Elena Rubin ‘07. “This is not new on this campus. This is not new in this world. This is just something that was just adding up.”
The appearance of the swastikas triggered an open forum and a march through campus and town against prejudice and discrimination, as well as discussion of ongoing concerns about student and academic life, especially racial discrimination and prejudice.
The incidents are currently under investigation by Security in conjunction with the Grinnell Police Department, said Director of Security Steve Briscoe. Though the intention of the perpetrators is unknown, theories as to their motives include white supremacy, anti-Semitism, criticism of the college administration and intoxicated attempts at humor.
The police department has classified the vandalism as hate crimes, or bias-motivated crimes, which are crimes against persons or property wholly or partly motivated by the offender’s bias against race, religion, disability, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation.
In an email announcing the hate crimes, Security also announced an all-campus meeting to be held at 9:15 Monday night in Lazier Hall. The small lounge on Lazier Third filled to capacity at about 9:10, and Vice President for Student Services Tom Crady led the crowd of 100-150 students to the Forum South Lounge.
Brumer said that they assumed that more students would attend than would fit in Lazier, but they started the meeting in Lazier because “we need to reclaim that.”
Briscoe began the meeting by giving a synopsis of information about the incident and a list of possibly related events. Briscoe speculated that the swastikas were drawn by someone with P-card access to the dorms, though Security has not ruled out the possibility of an off-campus offender.
After Briscoe shared information pertaining to the crimes, Crady affirmed the campus’ stance “against intolerance and hate” and opened up the forum to student questions and comments.
Initially, students asked questions about safety in light of the appearance of the Nazi insignia on campus. Briscoe responded that the Security Department will have an extra security guard on at night for the next week and said that the college is working on installing emergency phones.
Students also tied the appearance of swastikas to ongoing problems in the Grinnell community concerning issues of race, citing a need for greater faculty diversity, low attendance at events such as last Thursday’s CBS-sponsored open forum on race and unnoticed acts of prejudice on campus.
“Why do we have to wait for a crisis to pack into a room?” said Archie Tyson ’06. Delwin Pinkins ’06 added we need to remember that acts of discrimination occur frequently both in Grinnell and around the world.
“How many people in this room have been discriminated against when they have gone into town?” asked Liliana Renteria ‘06. Out of the approximately 150 students in the room, the vast majority of non-white students raised their hands; very few white hands were raised.
Associate Chaplain Deborah Brin spoke of a 1998 incident of anti-Semitic and homophobic graffiti on-campus, to which the community responded with a 600- to 700-person vigil and march.
At the open forum, SGA President Mark Henry ‘05 suggested a march through campus and downtown to show solidarity against intolerance. “Can we do a march at noon tomorrow?” he asked. “Is that okay?”
The next day, about 250 people marched through the South, East and North Campus loggias, then walked downtown. Some of those marching in front chanted, while those further back talked with friends or walked quietly.
In City Park in downtown Grinnell, marchers gathered, and Henry and others spoke of the need to improve town-gown relations and work on education on- and off-campus.
Tyson suggested making the march a weekly event. “If we could do this every week, we’d make a real statement,” he said. “One march is cool, but one march ain’t a struggle.”
In an interview Wednesday night, Brumer echoed the need to sustain this week’s momentum. “Spring break’s coming up,” he said. “It can’t stop with spring break.”
Brumer said that the students who drafted the original email alerting the campus community of the swastikas are considering writing a constitution for a new student group that would coordinate more cooperation between existing student groups that address discrimination-related issues as well as work to address issues raised at the forum.
In addition, SGA is starting a committee to address these issues, as well as holding another open forum on race and bringing a speaker on discrimination and hate crimes to campus, said Henry.
Others urged education and informal discussion with friends and floormates as well. “If you’re not willing to participate, you’re part of the problem,” said Brumer. “Just keep talking about it … And listen.”
Related events
At Monday’s forum, students and college employees suggested many events that could be related to the swastikas’ appearance.
National events
•White supremacists suspected in the Feb. 28 murder of judge Joan Lefkow’s husband and mother in Chicago
• Swastikas reported in Omaha, Neb.; St. Louis, Mo. and on the University of Colorado-Boulder campus
Iowa events
• Swastikas found at Buena Vista College in Storm Lake and Iowa State University in Ames
• White supremacist literature distributed in Des Moines
Campus events
• Cinder block thrown through Dean for Student Life Jennifer Krohn’s office window
• Vice president for student services Tom Crady’s car vandalized
• Two men yell homophobic remarks and engage student in physical altercation near Eighth Avenue
• International student hit with rock, probably from passing car
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