Multiple Jewish students were astounded to have woken up to a slew of hateful incidents targeting their dorm rooms at the University of Denver.
The incidents, which occurred between February 9 – 12, included pork left on the doorstep and smeared on the dorm room door of one Jewish student and mezuzahs ripped off the doorways of the rooms of two other Jewish students.
The parchment (sacred scrolls) in the Mezuzahs was tampered with, one of which was tragically destroyed. The students are all visibly Jewish and have been very concerned following the hate filled incidents.
The University of Denver sent a letter to all students and staff this week informing them about three antisemitic incidents within the past week.
“Dear DU Students:
In the past few days, our residential communities have experienced three acts of antisemitic vandalism. As some of you may have heard, early last Thursday, a Johnson-MacFarlane resident’s door was vandalized; and yesterday evening, two residents from the Nagel Hall reported that their doors were vandalized and religious items were removed over the weekend.
The University has provided a range of support to directly affected students and continues investigating these incidents. If you have information about any of these incidents, please share it with the Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX (EOIX) by emailing [email protected] or by filing a report through their online reporting form. You can find more information about the Equal Opportunity office, and relevant policies and procedures at www.du.edu/equalopportunity.
We want to be very clear that these acts are NOT acceptable within DU’s community, and acknowledge the harm that has been caused to members of our community. Every student, faculty, and staff member deserves a place to live, learn, and work that is respectful, welcoming, and safe. Each of us shares the responsibility to foster that environment through our actions.
We each have commitments to make. Importantly, we call on our community members to be accountable for our community. This means holding oneself and one’s community responsible when harm is caused, seeking ways to prevent harmful acts from occurring in the future, as well as engaging in campus life, including cultural and educational opportunities, to make connections across the DU campus.
As we continue working with all involved, below are some resources to educate, support, and engage our community:
· Hillel and Chabad supporting Jewish student life at the DU community
· What is antisemitism? www.ushmm.org/antisemitism/what-is-antisemitism
· Individual and group support is available through the Health & Counseling Center (HCC): www.du.edu/health
· Student Outreach & Support: https://crimsonconnect.du.edu/click?linkid=eba92cfa-010d-4976-ad0f-da6a3907b678
· Get involved on campus: https://crimsonconnect.du.edu
If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to your Dean of Students office: click here ”
Sincerely,
Todd Adams, Vice Chancellor
Student Affairs & Inclusive Excellence
University of Denver
Student Affairs and Inclusive Excellence
2055 E. Evans Ave
Denver, Colorado 80208
United States
