Stanford University History Corner
Officials at Stanford University are investigating the campus’ second antisemitic in less than ten days, The Stanford Daily reported on Thursday.
On Wednesday, a swastika was etched into a metal panel in bathroom of History Corner, a century-old building on the northeast side of the Main Quad of campus. The incident followed the desecration of a undergraduate resident’s mezuzah on April 3.
Rabbi Jessica Kirschner of Hillel at Stanford, speaking to The Algemeiner on Friday called on administrators to create a plan of action for addressing antisemitism at Stanford University.
“These incidents keep happening, and this is totally unacceptable,” Kirschner said. “Clearly more work is needed to address a culture where individuals feel emboldened to behave this way, and where it is challenging to identify the perpetrators.”
Similar incidents at Stanford University have occurred several times this academic year. In March, a Jewish student found an image of Hitler and swastikas on their door on Friday, several university administrators confirmed in an email to the community. Other incidents include the removal of an Israeli flag from a display of others from across the world and the desecration of a mezuzah belonging to a graduate student. Most recently, on Feb. 28, someone graffitied swastikas, the n-word, and “KKK” in a men’s bathroom.
In January, a Stanford University student was photographed reading Adolf Hitler’s memoir, prompting a series of discussions about “its impact on the community.”
Stanford University is currently undertaking several efforts aimed at increasing the campus’ inclusion of and support for the Jewish community. In October, it issued a bombshell report in which it admitted to limiting Jewish enrollment in the mid-twentieth century.
On April 7, according to The Stanford Daily, university president Marc Tessier-Lavigne attended a Passover Shabbat organized by Hillel at Stanford, where he said, “I want to make it very clear that we will not tolerate antisemitism and the symbols of antisemitism here on campus. It is something we need to eradicate.”
Over 1,600 students at the university are Jewish, according to Hillel International.