A bench in the Stanford Arch on Palm Drive at El Camino Real was defaced with a deceased rat on top of what appeared to be a Star of David on Wednesday.

Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) spokesperson Bill Larson told The Daily that the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime. Currently, there are no suspects, he said.

The drawing was approximately seven inches in diameter, drawn with a black marker. Larson said it “contained several symbols, including a hexagram of possibly a Star of David, with a letter or symbol resembling an ‘A’ and what appears to be an upside-down ‘t’ or an inverted cross inside the star. A dead rodent had been placed on top of the graffiti.”

He also told The Daily that SUDPS has been in contact with “non-university resources in an effort to determine what the symbols might represent.”

President Marc Tessier-Lavigne told students that the bench “contained symbols that are unclear in intention but could be taken as being antisemitic in nature” at a conversation with the President and the Provost held Thursday.

“We stand against antisemitism and all expressions of hatred against others,” he said. “We know that other members of our community have experienced acts of intolerance as well. And again, I want to be clear. Every member of our community has a place here, and no crude drawing, whatever its intention, can change that.”

University spokesperson EJ Miranda clarified the President’s comments, saying his focus was on “condemnation of anti-Semitism.”