Just as antisemitic feeling has seen somewhat of a recent resurgence in Europe and elsewhere, its marks have also begun to emerge on Tufts’ campus over the past year. According to the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD), anti-Semitic graffiti appeared on Bello and Spicer Fields in 2013 and on Lewis Hall in the winter of 2014.
As a result of several joint investigations between TUPD and the Somerville Police Department, two non-Tufts juveniles were apprehended as suspects responsible for the graffiti, according to a recent report by TUPD. Somerville District Court is planning to hold a hearing in the near future to seek criminal charges, according to the report.
“It was extremely disturbing that someone painted swastikas on the Tufts campus,” Tufts Hillel Neubauer Executive Director Rabbi Jeffrey Summit told the Daily in an email.
Summit shared his concern that the incident reflected a disturbing broader trend.
“We are very aware of the rising anti-Semitism in Europe, and this graffiti felt like a violation." he said.
According to Director of Public and Environmental Safety Kevin Maguire, TUPD caught the perpetrators by using an array of evidence. In addition to the graffiti itself, Maguire said TUPD used physical evidence found, which was then processed and examined, and ultimately helped point to a potential suspect.
Maguire said that TUPD also employs other qualitative aids in its investigations, including photos and posts on social media and claims from witnesses, to ensure the appropriate prosecution of the individuals directly responsible for hate crimes.
TUPD found that working on these cases in tandem with the Medford and Somerville Police Departments expedited the entire investigation process, according to Maguire.
“We met regularly to discuss results, findings, information, who we’re looking at, and then we were able to put together viable suspects,” Maguire said.
With a larger work force and the ability to jointly share and analyze evidence, the three police departments noticed a surge in efficiency and progress from the collaboration.
“Neither the Tufts Police, nor the Somerville Police, nor the Medford Police could have done it without the other,” Maguire said.
According to Maguire, the impact of the anti-Semitic symbols go beyond tarnished fields and buildings; the kind of strong symbolism that appeared brings back memories of past injustices and can create an atmosphere of prejudice.
“These are powerful images that send messages of fear through our community,” Maguire said.
He said that the effects of bias incidents like these need to be better understood by the public.
“I think we need to highlight the real-life impact of these things on real-life folks, and how they are hurt by them,” Maguire said.
Though the primary victims are those who identify as Jewish, there are damages done to non-Jewish people as well. The existence of individuals who lack respect for others’ beliefs threatens the community’s protocol for freedom of expression.
“I’m not Jewish, so I personally don’t feel threatened by the incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti ... but at the same time, I feel like it's harder to express my beliefs now because [I risk facing] hostility,” first-year Andre Chuong said.
From the nature of the suspects, it is likely that the motives behind the graffiti are ones of mischief rather than malice, according to Maguire. If this were the case, the ignorance of adolescents concerning the impacts of their actions proves detrimental to the community.
“People are posting things that they consider a joke or funny saying, when in reality it places people in fear … that’s a crime,” Maguire said.
In an attempt to remedy the culprits' ignorance, TUPD believes that the Dean of Student Affairs office is a better medium for discipline, due to its educational and reflective approach, according to Maguire. However, since the suspects in this case are not affiliated with Tufts, it is forced to default to the Somerville District Court instead.
“[We are] trying to get the courts to engage [the suspects] in some educational component as a part of their restitution and punishment,” Maguire said.
Maguire hopes that the incident can be transformed into a learning experience.
“Let’s explain what these messages mean to the larger community, to the people on campus whose relatives were lost as a result of the Holocaust,” Maguire said.
As an educational measure for the younger generation within the community, TUPD is considering making videos of testimonials from juvenile suspects, which would be broadcasted on social media and at local educational institutes, according to Maguire.
Hillel is creating a similar educational program for Tufts students, according to Summit.
“Hillel is planning a series of educational programs, on rising anti-Semitism in Europe, the growth and root causes of anti-Semitism and teaching students how to respond to this brand of hatred,” he said in an email.
According to Summit, the program will cover modern and historical antisemitism, its roots and ways of dealing with it.
"Such acts remind us that we have to be vigilant in responding to these, and all, acts of hatred,” he said.
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