A swastika was found painted on the northeast side of Baldwin Auditorium Saturday afternoon, at least the third offensive symbol to have defaced East Campus this academic year.
The 16-by-16-inch symbol-sketched in red paint on the wall facing Markum Avenue-will be removed Monday, Duke University Police Department Maj. Gloria Graham said. No leads, suspects or witnesses to the crime have been identified, and the case will be pursued by DUPD's investigations unit, Graham said.
"It's our sense that this is a stupid prank more than an overt hate crime. That's how we will be handling it," Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said. "I'm personally pretty offended by it-both of my parents are Holocaust survivors. I think this is the kind of ignorant prank that kids do without really knowing the history and the pain."
The swastika is one of several acts of vandalism on East in recent months. In February, the letters F and an A were spray-painted before the term "G-Spot" to form a homophobic slur on the bench of Giles Residence Hall. In the same dormitory, several swastikas were found written on white boards in October. No suspects were identified in connection with either crime, and DUPD currently has no reason to suspect the swastikas in Giles and Baldwin were put there by the same party, Graham said.
Moneta said he does not think the second appearance of the swastikas is anything more than a coincidence. But the number of offensive symbols have appeared on East Campus does seem to be a break from recent years, Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek said.
"We've certainly had more incidents like this one this year than in the last few years," she said. "It's hard to know whether they are random, and it's hard to know what the motivation is behind them. I certainly am concerned about it, but I don't know that it is reflective of the entire community."
Freshman Leigh Spivey said she has been struck by how often demeaning symbols have been drawn on East this year, noting that she doubts the incidents are random given their recurrence.
Freshman Kevin DeLand said he saw the swastika on Baldwin Sunday morning but did not think much of the symbol, explaining that he suspects "immature" freshmen are to blame.
"It's just another idiot trying to piss people off, similar to the Giles bench," he said. "They're not hateful, they're just ignorant in that they want to stir things up a bit. I doubt it was a Durhamite."
It is unclear whether the swastika was painted by a Duke student, Graham said.
"It's disturbing, regardless," Wasiolek said. "It becomes more disturbing if it is someone within the Duke community."
Freshman Jeremy Moskowitz, a Giles resident who is Jewish, said he was deeply offended when he awoke to find a swastika on the white board hanging from his door in October. Although the Baldwin symbol has been scrawled further away, Moskowitz said the incident is even more hurtful because it took place at a more prominent location on campus.
"This definitely makes me angry, especially because it's one of several we've seen this year," he said. "We were pretty upset [with the Giles incident], but we assumed it was isolated. I think this is a sign of a greater problem."
Director for Jewish Life Rebecca Simons could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Wasiolek, who was notified of the incident by The Chronicle Sunday afternoon, said she plans to discuss how to respond with her colleagues.
"I think that our values as an institution are quite clear," she said. "Nonetheless, we can always do more to educate."
Freshman Marianne Schroer, a Giles resident, said she hopes the offensive symbols do not earn her class a reputation of intolerance, noting that she feels that East is generally a very accepting place.
"It seems like these things happen every week," she said. "But I think there are just a few people who are doing this when they're drunk and giving the freshmen a bad name."
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