Swastikas reported on walls of Lathrop stairwells

Anita Varma Senior Editor

Three swastikas drawn on the walls of Lathrop were discovered on Wednesday, Nov. 23. The swastikas are on the walls of stairwells between the first, second, and third floors. Danny Kadishon ’09 scribbled over the symbols with black marker, and Lathrop House Vice-President Amalia Sax-Boulder ’08 covered them with signs that read “Make Love, Not Hate.”

Lidiya Yankovskaya ’08 reported the swastikas to Lathrop and Jewett House Advisor Molly MacElroy, as well as Residential Life Director Luis Inoa.

“I was horrified. I don’t expect something like that on the Vassar campus, despite the problems we’ve had this semester with The Imperialist,” said Yankovskaya. “I don’t think of Vassar as a place where hate like this takes place, and especially because something like a swastika is a direct attack. It’s a direct sign of hate.”

Inoa advised students to file a report with Security when such incidents occur. “The preference would be to have a Security report, pictures, and a community wide, or at least Lathrop community-wide, e-mail,” said Inoa. “At the very least there will some awareness raised that this kind of behavior is not tolerated.”

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, MacElroy sent an e-mail to Lathrop residents, which read, “Recently, some of you might have seen or heard about the hateful symbols that were drawn on several of the walls in the main stairwell of Lathrop House. As of now, we do not know who did it or even if they live in this building, but the graffiti reminds us of the hate that exists in our community. Even if someone did it as a ‘joke,’ it reveals the depths of the ignorance that exists on campus.”

According to Inoa, there is not a written Residential Life policy “as related to written symbols.” He said that the incident would fall under College Regulations about harassment.
In response to the vandalism incident, Lathrop House Intern Kate Zambon ’07 is organizing a talk by professors in the Lathrop MPR or Parlor. It will be on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

Associate Professor of History Maria Hoehn, and Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies Ismail Rashid will speak about hate symbols, and the line between hate and free speech.

Zambon noted that the Lathrop House Team intended to hold a similar talk concerning issues raised in The Imperialist, but did not because of organizational problems. “We’re hoping that it’s a response not only to the graffiti, but also to the greater range of concerns that have been raised throughout this semester,” said Zambon. “Specifically, we were galvanized by the graffiti.”

Yankovskaya said she feels the reactions to the swastikas indicate a larger problem as well. “For me, it was surprising that not much of a reaction came from the House Team. Interestingly, only the two Jews on the house team, myself and [Sax-Bolder] were worried...Often anti-Semitism is overlooked in this country especially...People talk about racism a lot more.”

Zambon said that ongoing discussions concerning hateful speech are key. She said, “This is a much greater issue on campus, so hopefully [the talk] will keep us remembering that this is an issue that doesn’t go away, and even if you can’t see it, it’s still there.”