Racist, anti-Semitic vandalism uncovered inside Kline biology tower

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Two incidents of hate graffiti have been discovered in the building in recent weeks, Police Chief Ronnell Higgins told the Yale community on Tuesday evening.

Olivia Tucker & ngela Prez 2:48 am, October 6, 2021

Staff reporters

A group of unidentified individuals have twice committed hateful vandalism inside the Kline biology tower in the past two weeks, the community alerted Tuesday evening.

Yale Police Chief Ronnell Higgins wrote to the Yale community on Tuesday evening about the discovery of racist and anti-Semitic graffiti inside the Kline Biology Tower at 219 Prospect Street on two occasions during the last few weeks, once on September 20 and again on October 2. The police department opened an investigation immediately after hearing of the first incident, Higgins said. But the specific nature of the vandalism was unclear on Tuesday night, as was the identity of the perpetrators.

University president Peter Salovey issued a statement on Tuesday evening condemning the vandalism.

I am outraged by these despicable and cowardly acts of hate, and I am deeply saddened that the team working on the site, members of our police department and others within our community who responded to these incidents had to see such vile messages, Salovey writes in the statement.

The Kline Biology Tower, or KBT, has been closed for construction since an electrical fire broke out in the building in 2019.

Police discovered hateful graffiti and vandalized building materials inside KBT on September 20, Higgins wrote in his email. The next day, he added, facilities and construction crews stepped up security measures by installing additional security cameras and fortifying perimeter fences and access gates to the construction site.

Cameras captured footage of five young adults as they broke into the site and spray painted and vandalized the interiors of the buildings. Higgins posted pictures of the suspects and asked anyone with information to contact the Yale Police Department.

In her statement, Salovey reiterated her demand that Yale police and security services increase campus patrols.

Uri Cohen, executive director of the Joseph R. Slifka Center for Jewish Life, wrote in an email to the News that he and other Slifka leaders had not been made aware of any of the incidents of graffiti only by e-mail on Tuesday.

Slifka executives released a statement early Wednesday morning denouncing the vandalism and highlighting the spaces they will host for students to be part of the community in the coming days.

At this time of increasing violence against Jews and other minorities in America, even symbolic incidents like this take on broader and darker meanings, especially for our communities, many Jews of color, who are affected by multiple intersecting ways, read the statement signed by Cohen, Rabbi Jason Rubenstein, Jewish Chaplain Howard M. Holtzmann, Student Council Co-Chairs Hillel Ruthie Davis 23 and Zevi Siegal 23 and Kehillah Destiny Rose Murphy LAW 22 Leaders and Darya Watnick ENV 22. Our first instinct and our most powerful response are to come together; there is no substitute for the warmth and strength of community during times of fear like this.

Several Jewish students told the News that they were not surprised by the anti-Semitic messages, but remained frustrated by the university’s lack of response.

I think the university should just stand by its Jewish students, Kezia Levy 24 told The News. [Jewish students] should never feel the need to hide this identity for their safety, because at the forefront, Yale is here to make sure that every student feels able to speak up regardless of their religion or political affiliation.

University spokeswoman Karen Peart and vice president of communications Nate Nickerson declined to immediately comment on the story.

I don’t think I was really surprised, Viktor Shamis-Kagan 24 told The News. There were moments of anti-Semitism that I saw happen to students and it’s just kind of ignored. I hope that we will make an effort to denounce it and offer anti-racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Islamophobic training.

The News has contacted the directors of the four cultural centers for comment, but has not received a response at the time of publication. Kimberly Goff-Crews, secretary and vice president for college life and director of Yale Membership initiatives, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement to the News, Yale College board directors Jordi Bertrn Ramrez 24 and Joaqun Lara Midkiff 23 decried the incident and called for academic flexibility in its wake.

Which to some represent only isolated incidents of vandalism, to marginalized communities in Yale and beyond, represents generations of hundreds and thousands of years of organized and calculated hatred, wrote Bertrn Ramrez and Lara Midkiff . The actions of October 2 shed further light on an already glaring truth: we have tremendous progress ahead of us before we can promise a culture of safety, care and respect on campus.

Bertrn Ramrez and Lara Midkiff urged the administration to academically support students affected by the incident with easy access to deans’ apologies and flexible absence policies.

Students can contact the Yale Police Department at (203) 432-4400 for additional information.

This story is out and will be updated.

OLIVIA TUCKER

Olivia Tucker covers politics and student affairs at Yale College. Previously, she was Associate Editor of Yale Daily News Magazine and covered gender equity and diversity as a reporter. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she is a second year student at Davenport College majoring in English.

NGELA PREZ

ngela Prez writes as a reporter for the city, WKND and sports offices, where she mainly covers the town hall and the council of aldermen. Originally from Puerto Rico, she plans to double the major in Architecture and History.

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