A swastika carved into a wall in Barus and Holley was reported to the Department of Public Safety on Thursday, the second incident of antisemitic graffiti on campus this summer.
Around 5 p.m. on Thursday, a community member informed DPS about the carving in a wall panel, according to an email from DPS. DPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment for further details.
Students have found swastika graffiti on College Hill before — most recently in July, when a community member observed a swastika carved into a tree on Brown Street, according to an earlier email from DPS. The community member destroyed the carving before reporting the incident.
A swastika was also found in Hegeman Hall in February 2020. The drawing, which students covered with a paper star, prompted the University to install security cameras in the residence hall.
And in 2017, a swastika drawn in human feces was found in a gender-neutral bathroom at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Southern New England has seen a surge of white supremacist activity over the last year, in large part from the New England-based neo-Nazi group NSC-131.
Anyone with more information about the crime should contact DPS at 401-863-3322, according to the email.
Correction: This story has been updated to include an instance of swastika graffiti earlier this summer. The Herald regrets the error.
Will Kubzansky was the 133rd editor-in-chief and president of the Brown Daily Herald. Previously, he served as a University News editor overseeing the admission & financial aid and staff & student labor beats. In his free time, he plays the guitar and soccer — both poorly.
