An Update on This Morning’s Vandalism
Dear members of the Northwestern community,
Early this morning, a group of individuals vandalized several buildings on our Evanston campus, spray-painting antisemitic slogans and hate-filled language. The fact that these acts occurred during the commencement of the Passover holiday makes these disgusting statements all the more despicable.
Antisemitic acts cannot and will not be tolerated at Northwestern, nor will vandalism or other violations of our policies on displays, demonstrations or conduct.
We are working systematically and utilizing camera footage, forensics and other methods to identify the individuals responsible for this vandalism. If these individuals are current Northwestern students, they will be immediately suspended and face full disciplinary proceedings under University policies, as well as criminal charges under the law.
Hours before this vandalism took place, I hosted a seder in my home in celebration of Passover, at which we discussed that amid the many challenges we face as a University and as a society, there is optimism and hope for our days ahead. That remains true despite the actions of a few who work to erode that hope.
Late last month, we published a Progress Report on University Efforts to Combat Antisemitism. As a University, we should take pride in the progress we have made over the past year, but we can never become complacent. In that report and in many communications prior, we made abundantly clear that violations of our rules and policies will result in strict enforcement and that antisemitic behavior will be met with consequences.
As we work to identify the individuals who committed this morning’s hateful act, I ask members of the community to come forward with any information that could be helpful in solving this case by calling University Police at 847-491-3456 or filing a report online with the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. Both can be done anonymously.