U of I Police probing offensive graffiti in campus buildings

Posted on October 14, 2019
University police said all four incidents remain under investigation. (Photo University of Illinois Police/Facebook)

 

By Neil Doyle

URBANA – University of Illinois Police are investigating multiple reports of offensive graffiti in campus buildings.

U of I Police said they are aware of four incidents of anti-Semitism reported last week.

Officers said a swastika was discovered Oct. 7 in a bathroom in the Foreign Languages Building, and another was discovered Thursday at Taft Hall. On Friday, police said two more swastikas were discovered lightly inscribed in a Weston Hall elevator and drawn in pencil on a study table at the ACES Library.

U of I Police Chief Craig Stone issued a statement, and said all of the incidents remain under investigation. Authorities said although the incidents have been reported recently, it is not known when the damage happened.  In at least one case, the damage appeared to be quite old, according to officers.

“Any time a crime is reported to us, we do everything within our authority to identify the person responsible. At this time, we do not have a reason to believe that these incidents are related to each other,” said Stone.

Stone said the department is confident that the campus remains a safe place for students, faculty, staff and visitors, and the department continues to maintain a highly-visible police presence to deter criminal activity.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…