Police investigating appearance of swastika on campus building

Stanford’s Department of Public Safety is investigating the appearance of a swastika on a building pillar on the Graduate School of Business campus.

A security officer noticed the swastika, which was drawn with a blue grease pencil, at 8:25 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21. The security officer immediately notified the Department of Public Safety.

The appearance of the swastika brought a sharp rebuke from President Marc Tessier-Lavigne.

“It is profoundly troubling to learn that vandals have defaced our campus with this symbol of hate,” he said. “The university has zero tolerance for such appalling acts, which go counter to our fundamental values.”

The swastika is believed to have been drawn between Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. and the time it was seen by the security officer. According to an announcement circulated among members of the Graduate School of Business community, the swastika was drawn on Faculty East Building. In that announcement, Margaret Long Hayes, assistant dean for the MBA Program, described the swastika as “completely antithetical to our community values.”

The current report is reminiscent of instances between December and April, and then again in September, when symbols assumed to represent swastikas appeared throughout campus and in Palo Alto. However, the recent symbol on the GSB pillar differs in size, color and style from those drawn earlier, according to DPS.

There are no suspects in the appearances of any of the symbols, and police continue to investigate each instance.