Swastika found in Grad Tower

A swastika was found carved in the third floor stairway door in Graduate Tower A earlier this week. According to student estimations, the carving is the size of an eight and a half by eleven piece of paper, but not as thick. First year graduate student Jeremy Blumenfeld said he saw the swastika for the first time yesterday at noon. He said he thought a knife was used. The next time he saw it, Blumenfeld said the carving was covered up by a poster. But, he added, he is not satisfied with this solution. "I don't think just covering it with a poster is going to solve the problem," he said. The optimal solution would be to get a new door installed, he added. Second year graduate student Dave Effross said the swastika was not authentic because it was drawn backwards. "It may have been done by someone who is anti-Semitic, but obviously it was someone who doesn't know what he is doing," he said. Effross also expressed frustration with the situation. "The problem with a situation like this is it's impossible to trace who did it but it causes people to finger-point," he said. "And then they've really won." First year graduate student Vivian Perez noticed the swastika Wednesday evening. She said she was disturbed by its possible implications. "At first I thought it was someone trying to start controversy," she said. "It is scary to think that it might be directed towards a person." Director of Residential Living Gigi Simeone said her department is aware of the situation. "We are very concerned and will be following up in the Graduate Towers," she said. She added that she is confident that Residential Maintenance will do whatever it takes to remove the carving. Both University and Philadelphia Police have been called about the incident, she said. University Police Sergeant Keith Christian confirmed that his department has written a report on the subject. However, he added that no conclusions have been reached yet. Christian said University Police would be looking for who made the carvings and what needs to be done to prevent further cases. This is not the first instance of anti-Semitic vandalism in dormitories. Last spring, there were five instances over a six week period. Two times signs were posted in the Quadrangle which read, "The Jewish God Eats Human Shit." The other three times, paper swastikas were taped onto the first floor fire door of Cleeman, a section of the dorm.