Davis, California - Swastika carved into Jewish student's door probed as hate crime

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DAVIS, CA - Authorities at UC Davis were investigating an act of vandalism as a hate crime after a swastika was found carved into the door of a Jewish student's room, the university confirmed Friday.


In a letter sent to students and faculty Friday, UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said the incident happened earlier this week on the door in the campus residence hall in the Tercero housing complex.

"We cannot ignore deliberate acts that demean and threaten others based on race, ethnicity, gender, national origin or any personal characteristics," Katehi said.

The Jewish student, who asked not to be identified, told News10 Friday that she believes she was the likely target of the message --but she doesn't know why.

"I was scared when I saw it and confused. We all really like each other in the dorm. I don't know who would do it. It's totally unacceptable," said the UC Davis freshman.

She said she was very concerned when she found the 2-inch symbol cut into her door.

"It's no accident that it was at eye level on the door...not written on it, carved," she said.

The symbol, which was sanded out of the door by Friday, was under investigation by UC Davis police personnel.

"We take this very seriously," UC Davis police chief Annette Spicuzza said. "We truly want to talk to this individual to find out just what they were thinking when they did this."

The vandalism follows at least two other incidents of racial insensitivity on UC campuses in recent weeks.

Last week, a UC San Diego fraternity came under fire after allegedly organizing a "Compton Cookout" event that encouraged participants to mock Black History Month.

Students took over the UCSD chancellor's office Friday to protest the hanging of a noose in a campus library, the latest in a string of racially-charged incidents.

Meanwhile on the UC Irvine campus, 11 students reportedly from the school's Muslim Students Union were arrested Feb. 8 after repeatedly heckling and disrupting a speech by Israeli ambassador Michael Oren.

KXTV

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