By: Jennifer Ward and Arlenis Marmolejos
Editor's note: The following content may be sensitive or triggering for some readers.
The walkway in Alumni Village where a chalk statement was found. (Photo by Arlenis Marmolejos)
On Wednesday, August 28, the University Police Department (UPD) sent out a campus-wide email stating that there had been an incident involving “antisemitic statements” written in Alumni Village.
“Please know we take these matters extremely seriously,” UPD wrote in the email. “Purchase College has zero tolerance for any act of hate or bias.”
The chalk statement that prompted an investigation at Alumni Village. (Photo anonymously sent to @thepurchasephoenix on Instagram)
The incident included chalk writing in the Alumni Village walkways, one that stated, “Curb Stomp Israel Zionists Go Home.”
President of Hillel, Topaz Gal-Zur, said in a statement to The Phoenix, “To say ‘curb stomp Israel’ is a call to violence against Israelis or those to be perceived as Israeli or Jewish.”
She continued, “To say ‘Zionist go home’ is to ignore the majority of Jews in the world who identify Zionism, which is the belief that Jews have a right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland, as a part of their Jewish identity.”
This follows an incident earlier this semester on August 25, where a banner was hung up on the roof of Crossroads stating, “Free Palestine, Join the Student Infadata.”
A chalk statement found in Alumni Village. (Photo anonymously sent to @thepurchasephoenix on Instagram)
UPD sent out an email on August 26, urging students to report any acts of “graffiti” or “vandalism.” The email also included that Graffiti is a misdemeanor in New York State and a violation of the code of conduct.
UPD is currently running an investigation on the chalk writing in Alumni Village, urging students to reach out with information they have leading to any suspects.
UPD Police Chief Dayton Tucker did not respond to comment in a timely manner.
“This specific incident was completely morally unacceptable, as the graffiti featured a violent threat to Israel and antisemitic language that read ‘Zionists, go home,’ next to an inverted triangle symbol,” President Milagros Peña said in a statement to The Phoenix.
“There is no place for antisemitism on campus and we will take appropriate campus disciplinary action against individuals who are found responsible for acts such as these,” Peña continued.
On August 28, Peña sent out a campus-wide email regarding the incident.
“As we have communicated repeatedly, discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin, including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, has no place on our campus and in our community,” the email stated.
The email continued, “Our policies unequivocally condemn acts of hatred, bigotry, racism, intolerance or violence. There will never be a place for anti-Semitism, or hate of any kind on our campus.”
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