(JTA) — Anti-Semitic vandalism discovered on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, is being investigated by the university as a hate crime.
An anti-Semitic slur was discovered carved into a chair in a lecture hall last week.
“Let me be clear that we will not tolerate acts of oppression and hate, and will do everything in our power to deal with this,” university provost Sue Mattison said in an email sent to students.
Drake Public Safety removed the chair.
“Regardless of whether it was a big act or a small act it was still an act, and it still showed that there was someone on campus that decided to take the time to carve something into a seat so that other students can see it and instill that fear and that hate that no one should have to feel,” Tali Eisenstadt, the president of Drake Hillel, told the local NBC affiliate WHO.
The campus Hillel opened its doors after the incident to anyone who wanted to talk about their fears and concerns. Dozens of students, most but not all Jewish, showed up, according to the report.
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