Georgetown University officials say someone tagged a bathroom with anti-Semitic graffiti, the latest in a string of recent bias-related incidents reported on local college campuses.
Officials say the graffiti was found on Sunday in a public restroom next to the Makom Jewish Gather Space inside of the Leavey Center, also known as the student center. They did not provide further description about the markings.
“As a Catholic and Jesuit university, we are committed to fostering a community that is welcoming to people of all faiths and that values diversity, inclusion, and respect,” said Reverend Howard Gray, interim vice president for mission and ministry, and Todd Olson, vice president for student affairs, in a letter emailed to the campus community on Monday.
“This act of anti-Semitism and hate is unacceptable, antithetical to what we stand for as a university, and has no place on our campus,” Howard and Olson wrote.
Doron Ezickson, D.C. regional director of the Anti Defamation League, said in a statement that the ADL “condemns this incident” and commends the university’s “active response to it.”
“The disturbing uptick in anti-Semitic incidents occurring on college campuses across the nation has demonstrated a need for all students, faculty, and campus community members to stand together against this troubling trend of hate,” Ezickson said.
This incident follows reports of race-related instances of bias involving nooses on the campuses of American University and the University of Maryland in College Park.
Georgetown’s police officers are investigating the incident and increasing patrols on campus in coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department, according to the letter. The college community is also welcome to receive counseling services on campus.