Hate Crime Vandalisms on Campus

Since 12/30/16, 17 incidents of vandalism of a similar nature have been committed at various locations on the Stanford campus. Symbols resembling swastikas, only with the arms inverted, have been drawn using a black substance, possibly a grease pencil on university property. The most recent incident occurred between January 20-22, 2017 in the Escondido Village housing area. Although the symbols were drawn facing the opposite direction from the Nazi swastika, it is believed the drawings are intended to connote anti-Semitism. The symbols appear similar to those that were discovered at various locations throughout Palo Alto earlier this month. The Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) is investigating the matter. No suspects have been identified.

SUDPS has also received reports of an offensive flyer that has been received in several office printers around campus. The flyers, which contain inflammatory hate speech and images of swastikas, appear to point to an overseas hacker who has taken advantage of a vulnerability in networked printers around the United States to send out these documents to multiple universities around the country. The FBI and Stanford University IT have been notified of the flyers and measures are being implemented to secure the network and prevent these flyers from being printed on campus. At this time, the flyers do not appear to be related to the swastika graffiti discovered on campus, but part of a broader effort impacting multiple universities.

Anyone who may have information about either the swastika graffiti or the flyers is urged to contact SUDPS at (650) 329-2413 (24/7).

Individuals may also report acts of intolerance to the university through the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs. Additional information about reporting options and support resources can be found at: https://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/policies/acts-intolerance-protocol

The university’s Information Security Office (ISO) is proactively auditing university printers and will notify departments if vulnerable printers are identified. Additionally, ISO can assist with ensuring university devices are protected from unauthorized internet access. For more information, visit https://uit.stanford.edu/organization/iso