Administration outraged by hateful graffiti on campus
Irina Kuchevski
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: News
A disturbing and unprecedented incident occurred on the Mount campus last week. On the morning of November 11 at 9:54 a.m., Professor Kim Hansen reported graffiti on the chalkboard of a classroom in the Academic Center.
The graffiti was of a swastika and a Star of David, a depiction of Nazism as being superior to Judaism by a greater than sign, according to Ty Perry, Director of the Center for Student Diversity.
Director of Public Safety Barry Titler noted that the incident is unusual, "whoever put it there deliberately did it; the screen was pulled over the board. There is no doubt that it was meant to be negative," Titler said. By use of the greater than sign these symbols were manipulated to demonstrate ones personal beliefs and could be perceived as a hate crime under Maryland law.
Photos of the graffiti were immediately taken before the offensive drawings were erased.
Investigations into the nature of who is behind the incident are ongoing, however, "we do not have any further information as no witnesses or person(s) responsible have come forward," said Dean of Students Michael Taberski.
A class was conducted in the classroom the previous evening making it unclear whether the graffiti was drawn the previous evening or that morning.
"I want to hear from the person who did it," said President Thomas H. Powell. "Writing that kind of hateful graffiti violates the four pillars of the Mount. We will not tolerate any hate speech that takes away from the dignity of human persons, whether it is their religion, sexual orientation, gender, etc."
According to Powell, finding out the source of the hateful graffiti, removing that element from the Mount community, and strengthening leadership will serve as the basic steps in combating this situation as well as any future incidents.
"This is a leadership issue on every aspect. I know it's hard to confront their peers, but if students don't do it, then you're back in high school and the administration has to take care of it," said Powell who emphasized the need for students to maintain a sense of accountability to themselves and to others.
The graffiti was of a swastika and a Star of David, a depiction of Nazism as being superior to Judaism by a greater than sign, according to Ty Perry, Director of the Center for Student Diversity.
Director of Public Safety Barry Titler noted that the incident is unusual, "whoever put it there deliberately did it; the screen was pulled over the board. There is no doubt that it was meant to be negative," Titler said. By use of the greater than sign these symbols were manipulated to demonstrate ones personal beliefs and could be perceived as a hate crime under Maryland law.
Photos of the graffiti were immediately taken before the offensive drawings were erased.
Investigations into the nature of who is behind the incident are ongoing, however, "we do not have any further information as no witnesses or person(s) responsible have come forward," said Dean of Students Michael Taberski.
A class was conducted in the classroom the previous evening making it unclear whether the graffiti was drawn the previous evening or that morning.
"I want to hear from the person who did it," said President Thomas H. Powell. "Writing that kind of hateful graffiti violates the four pillars of the Mount. We will not tolerate any hate speech that takes away from the dignity of human persons, whether it is their religion, sexual orientation, gender, etc."
According to Powell, finding out the source of the hateful graffiti, removing that element from the Mount community, and strengthening leadership will serve as the basic steps in combating this situation as well as any future incidents.
"This is a leadership issue on every aspect. I know it's hard to confront their peers, but if students don't do it, then you're back in high school and the administration has to take care of it," said Powell who emphasized the need for students to maintain a sense of accountability to themselves and to others.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
M Connolly
posted 11/18/09 @ 9:38 PM EST
Whoever did this is to be pitied....it is senseless and indicates a major character flaw on this individual's part. Please find out how did this and remove them from campus permanently. (Continued…)
Mark Radeke
posted 11/18/09 @ 11:38 PM EST
The weeds continue to grow with the wheat...I agree with the Mount's solutions, but be careful not to give them to much of what they are seeking: a reaction and lots of attention. (Continued…)
peter913
Peter McBrien
posted 11/19/09 @ 12:03 AM EST
The depiction of Nazism as being superior to Judaism is to depict a Nazi as superior to Jesus, ..... a Jew!
Note, I went from the universal to the particular to accentuate my point of Logic. (Continued…)
Annapolis Movers
posted 11/30/09 @ 12:11 PM EST
This is certainly an unfortunate thing to have happened but this sort of thing will inevitably happen once in a while. It's important to recognize how wrong it is and try to communicate that message to everyone, but it's almost impossible to avoid it from ever happening. (Continued…)
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