Over the weekend, the Chancellor’s Office and the Hate Bias Response Program received reports of a white swastika spray-painted on the concrete near the East Remote Lot. Regrettably, anti-Semitic graffiti continues to be posted in different campus areas. As has been the case with other incidents, the UC Santa Cruz Police Department was notified immediately. The graffiti was quickly removed.
This incident is distressing to our Jewish community and to the campus community as a whole. To come just before the first night of Hanukkah and during finals week, when students are focused on marking the holiday and concluding their academic quarter, only further contributes to high stress levels.
As a campus community we denounce hateful and oppressive actions such as this, recognizing the impact this type of graffiti has on our students, staff, and faculty. If you come across graffiti, or other hateful messages, please contact the UC Santa Cruz Police Department immediately at 831-459-2231, ext. 1. We also encourage you to:
- Take a picture of the graffiti and/or message and include it in a report to reporthate.ucsc.edu.
- Inform a college administrative officer, assistant college administrative officer, supervisor, dean, or provost so they can also assess the situation and respond appropriately.
Additionally, we want to remind our students, staff, and faculty of the following resources, which can be helpful:
- A range of student support services is available through the Slug Support Program and the Cowell Student Health Center including personal counseling through Counseling and Psychological Services.
- The Employee Assistance Program can provide personal counseling and support for staff and faculty.
