Students find swastikas in Grad Tower

Three more found Saturday Three more swastikas were discovered by students in Graduate Tower A over the weekend. Senior resident and second year graduate student Darren Fava was the first to report the swastikas, which were found Saturday morning and evening. All three were carved into stairwell doors, two on the second floor and one on the third. Last Tuesday evening, a swastika was discovered in the same location on the third floor. Students estimated that the carving was the size of an eight and a half piece of paper. Fava said all three swastikas discovered this weekend were different in size. He said the one on the third floor was the same as the swastika found last week, but the two on the second floor varied in size and appearance. He estimated that one was six inches by six inches, and the other was a half inch squared. He added that even though the carvings were variations on the swastikas, the symbols are still very potent. "People were making comments that it was not really a swastika, but the symbol has enough connotations that it doesn't matter if it was drawn right," he said. Fava added that he thinks the act was done by someone seeking attention. First year Law School student Dvora Golowa said the repetition of the incident distresses her. "I am not scared in the physical sense, but the fact that someone is doing it specifically to get a rise out of everyone to prove a point -- that means it is not just a childish prank," she said. Director of Residential Living Gigi Simeone described the incidents as being "extremely upsetting." Residential Maintenance took care of the situation yesterday morning, she added. "I would say that this is unusual, but it is certainly not unheard of," Simeone said. University Police were notified of the incidents and they investigated them, she added. University Police Sergeant Keith Christian confirmed that an investigation was conducted, but added that the report has not come back yet. Grad Towers head resident Andy Walker said he was impressed by Residential Maintenance and Residential Living. They were on the scene within an hour, he added. "They acted on the situation and got it taken care of very quickly and efficiently," said the fifth year graduate student. He added that Simeone's department has worked hard to deal with everyone's questions. "We tried to be there for all of our residents," he said. Acting Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum said she hopes the police are able to determine who carved the swastikas into the doors. "We will do everything allowable by law to them if they are caught," she said. "I would encourage anyone who has information about these incidents to come forward." McCoullum added that the University is committed to a campus community that is respectable, adding that tolerance is not even enough. "It is just tragic that in 1994 we have to live with the evidences of hatred," she said. "But we as a residential community and University are better than this and we don't have to tolerate this." She added that she hopes a heightened level of vigilance will come from this situation. In fact, she sent out a letter to all on-campus residents discussing the situation. McCoullum said the vandalism was actually a criminal act -- it breaks the state's Ethnic Intimidation Law. "This violates every principal of human decency, but it is also against the law," she said. The University has been doing everything possible to deal with the situation, she added. "I hope everyone will get a sense that this is very important to us and that a lot of people are devoting a lot of time and attention to this," McCoullum said. Second year graduate student Dave Effross said he hopes the incidents will have a concrete result. "You have to raise awareness to the community as a large and make it known that these behaviors are unacceptable in a civilized society," he said. There will be a program tonight at 8 p.m. in Grad A's new lounge during which residents can discuss the incidents of the past week. All students are invited to attend. Director of Penn Hillel Jeremy Brochin will be running the meeting. "Hopefully people can come [to the meeting] to talk about it and resolve the issue," Fava said.