By Ben Brown & Brad Bormann

About two weeks ago, a pair of small swastikas appeared etched into the paneling of the elevator in Kamine Hall. A Lafayette employee reported the incident to Public Safety and the vandalized elevator panel was promptly removed.

The swastikas came as an ugly reminder of the rash of similar acts of vandalism committed last year. Associate Dean and Director of Intercultural Development John McKnight did not attribute the incidents to anything in particular.

“We are not exactly sure when this vandalism occurred, so I would hesitate to call this a resurgence of the kinds of ethnic intimidation we experienced last year,” McKnight said in an email. “The College takes these incidences very seriously.”

Although concerned, Assistant Director of Public Safety and Supervisor of Criminal Investigations Jim Meyer said that the swastikas are less cause for concern than they would be had they been displayed on a student’s residence hall door.

“I want this to be over-with, done,” DeMark Bowman ‘12 said.

“It’s almost not worth my time to discuss,” Bianca Vassare ‘12 added.

Prior to being interviewed, neither Bowman nor Vassare were aware of the vandalism, nor were they concerned with future acts. “I wasn’t afraid [during last year’s vandalism]. I was just fed-up. I never felt like I was in danger,” Bowman said.

Hours following the discovery of the swastikas in Kamine, obscene graffiti was found in the stairwell of McKeen Hall. Meyer attributes this incident to juvenile behavior.

“Most of our students are good students and they are mature. What was done over in McKeen Hall was certainly very immature … most students wouldn’t even waste their time to do that,” Meyer said.