On Saturday, a swastika and the words "f*** Jews" were discovered carved into the door of the Hillel of Buffalo office, located in the Commons.
The Hillel of Buffalo banner was also stuffed into a garbage can and brochures were missing.
Hillel is a student group designed to bring together students of the Jewish community and exists on most college campuses, according to Hillel of Buffalo President and junior political science major Jonathan Grunin. Grunin believes the vandalism was committed after Hillel members left the office around 7 p.m. Saturday. It was reported to University Police, and an investigation is currently ongoing.
This was the most extreme case of anti-Semitism experienced by the members of Hillel at UB this year, Grunin said.
"Every year something happens," Grunin said. "Usually...someone will take our banner, and it happens so often that I'm almost certain we budget for it to happen...and get the banner replaced and stuff. It was never this serious."
UPD has filed reports for criminal mischief and larceny, and additional charges may be warranted if an arrest is made, according to a statement released by the university.
UB's statement says the university values the diversity and cultural beliefs on campus and that "hateful acts such as this are contrary to UB's values and have no place on the UB campus."
Last year, someone inscribed, "The final solution is the only solution" and that "All Jews should die" in a bathroom stall in the Millard Fillmore Academic Complex. Grunin said phrases like that are written all over campus.
Grunin was pleased with how the campus responded to the bathroom stall issue. Victoria Hellman, the assistant director for residential life, had the graffiti removed and bathrooms searched for similar vandalism.
This most recent incident of defacement is different than those of the past, according to Grunin. In this case, the perpetrator "actually took the extra step to make [his or her] message known" to the Jewish community by putting it somewhere associated directly with the Jewish faith.
Grunin feels the UB is handling this situation appropriately, as well.
"We are very confident in the University Police; we have full faith in them," Grunin said. "We want them to find anything they can, but we understand that it's a really hard issue to find out, especially because there aren't that many tracings."
There are no security cameras in the Commons. But a local security company reached out to Hillel of Buffalo, offering to install cameras for free.
Two weeks ago, Hillel of Buffalo hosted a workshop about fighting anti-Semitism on campus. After the workshop, Grunin said he assumed this kind of hate was mild on campus, and now realizes "it's a little more out there than [those attending the workshop] thought initially."
Grunin said the organization plans on having more workshops regarding anti-Semitism in the future.
In November, The Spectrum reported on a Muslim student who had a swastika keyed into the side of her car. Students have expressed curiosity about the similarities between the two incidents.
"As for prior hateful incidents on campus, we are leaving it in UB police's capable hands to determine whether these incidents are linked, and handle them as necessary," said Adeet Handel, director of Hillel Buffalo, in an email.
UPD "has no reason to believe" that this act of vandalism is related to the keyed swastika last semester, UB spokesman John Della Contrada said in an email.
UPD is currently having Della Contrada field all media questions involving the Hillel incident.
Facing acts of anti-Semitism isn't something unusual to Grunin. It's something he has dealt with throughout high school in Long Island and in his last three years at UB. But Grunin expressed a sense of optimism and perseverance.
"[Members of the Jewish community and I] are not letting ourselves become victim to this, we are not going to play the victim card," Grunin said. "Stuff happens, it happens to everyone, we understand that. It's very disappointing that something like this, that has been going on for so many centuries, is still happening."
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
