Author: Ryan Strong
The Hillel Club held an open discussion with the Occidental community yesterday after Dean of Students Barbara Avery reported that a student drew a swastika on a Jewish student’s door in Haines Hall. The student subsequently posted on the anonymous “Oxy Confessions” Facebook page, claiming to be responsible for the posting. Hillel Club President Hannah Mandel (senior) said that a student also reported seeing a second swastika in a library bathroom recently and that the Jewish community at Occidental is shaken by the pair of incidents.
“I was stunned,” Mandel said, noting that she is concerned about why two swastikas have suddenly appeared on campus right as the Jewish community commemorates the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht.
On Nov. 9, 1938, Hitler and his Nazi regime (whose party symbol was the swastika) led a coordinated attack against Jewish people in Germany and Austria, arresting tens of thousands while destroying their homes, community spaces and personal property.
Somebody claiming to be responsible for drawing the swastika on the whiteboard tried to ease concerns about the incident by posting anonymously on the “Oxy Confessions” Facebook page, saying that he did not know the student was Jewish when he drew the swastika.
“At the time I was belligerently drunk as well as under the influence. I was walking around looking for someone’s room and I saw a white board. Idiot, stoned me thought it’d be a great idea to draw on it for fun,” the post said, adding that he was “deeply sorry” and that he is not trying to justify his actions.
The posting on “Oxy Confessions” did little to comfort club members who were disappointed that the student claiming responsibility hid behind anonymity and blamed drugs and alcohol.
“I am concerned that the first thing he thought of was a swastika,” Mandel said, adding that she also found certain responses to the post troubling.
Mandel additionally expressed frustration with student affairs officials for not reaching out to Hillel Club before it blasted an email to the entire school.
“Hillel never got notification,” she said. “[The Dean’s email] was also quite delayed.”
Campus Safety logs indicate that the incident was reported at 6:32 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. Avery sent her email to the entire community at 4:20 p.m. Monday.
“The idea that a member of the Occidental community could be responsible for such a hurtful attack is deeply disappointing,” Avery’s email said. “Let there be no doubt: efforts to intimidate anyone on campus in this or any other way will not be tolerated.”
Hillel would like to see the administration adopt a policy of reaching out to relevant student organizations as soon as possible following similar incidents to give them an opportunity to better prepare and support each other and the victims.
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