College students in Northern Colorado reported two separate instances of anti-Semitic notes and symbols found on their property in recent weeks.
A student at Colorado State University found a swastika drawn in ice on their car windshield, according to an email sent to The Collegian.
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The student identifies as non-Jewish and white, and found the swastika Dec. 20 near student apartments close to the CSU main campus and Shields Street, the Presidential Task Force on Jewish Inclusion and the Prevention of Antisemitism said.
According to the Task Force, the student chose not to report the incident and assumed their car was randomly chosen, not targeted. A member of the Task Force who is familiar with the student notified the Task Force of the incident.
“I am saddened and very concerned about the latest incident at CSU,” wrote Carolin Aronis, co-chair of the Task Force, in an email to The Collegian. “Through the Task Force’s work over the last several months, our documentation and monitoring has revealed the significant extent to which our campus suffers from a climate of intimidation.”
The Collegian last reported a swastika found near campus outside an apartment in Aggie Village in September 2019, and in October 2017, a student in Durward Hall posted a Snapchat picture of a student with a swastika painted on their arm.
“Displaying a swastika, which likewise targets minorities other than just the Jewish community, is not merely an expression of ignorance, as I sometimes hear it suggested,” Aronis wrote. “It is a commonly known hateful and hostile act used to convey a sense of fear among different peoples who are perceived as inferior by white supremacists.”
Additionally, a University of Northern Colorado student sent an anonymous statement to the Instagram account Jewish on Campus that was published Dec. 15.
“Someone left a note on my door that said, ‘Jews created COVID-19 to subvert the white race,'” the statement said. “This note was covered with stickers of various Jewish caricatures. A bag of rat poison was taped to the bag.”
In a statement to The Collegian, CSU President Joyce McConnell condemned anti-Semitic acts and said members of the Task Force informed McConnell, the interim executive director of the CSU Police Department and other University leaders of the swastika.
“We are deeply grateful for the work of our Task Force members, who are committed to raising awareness of these acts of hate and to educating communities like ours in how to support those impacted and prevent future incidents,” McConnell said. “We reaffirm our commitment to the efforts across our university community to fight bias and racism.”
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McConnell also mentioned that the Incidents of Bias reporting system is available for anyone in the University community “who believes they have experienced or witnessed bias firsthand.”
“We are outraged and saddened by yet another horrific example of the antisemitism plaguing our society,” wrote Rabbi Yerachmiel Gorelik, a lecturer in the department of philosophy and advisor for the Chabad Jewish Student Association, in an email to The Collegian. “This only spurs us to redouble our efforts against bias and hate, and we are thankful for the unequivocal support of President McConnell and her administration.”
Serena Bettis can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @serenaroseb.
