By Rebecca Miller
Whether it was a prank or a deliberate hate crime, the vandalization of a high-rise bathroom two years ago offended residents. What followed bothered some even more.
On May 6, 2005, male students entered a restroom in Vanderpoel Hall and found large black swastikas scrawled on the beige stalls. No investigation was put forth, no suspects were found and days later, remnants of the vandalism were still visible.
While other private universities identify what qualifies as a bias-related crime, the University’s campus safety report does not include any information about what constituents a hate crime. Nor does it claim to have any hate crimes committed within the past three years, according to the campus safety report’s crime statistics.
A local private college, Adelphi University in Garden City, devotes a full page on its Web site to describe what a component of a bias-related crime is, as well as how such crimes can affect a college campus.
The Adelphi Web site says, “Bias incidents often strike at the heart of personal identity, reporting them can be a sensitive and embarrassing issue. In the aftermath of a bias-related incident, victims often feel shock, anger, fear, powerlessness and depression.” Adelphi defines a hate crime as acts such as aggravated harassment, arson, assault and criminal mischief by an individual motivated by a bias against the victim’s age, ancestry, gender, race, religious practice or sexual orientation, according to the site.
Although the swastikas were drawn on the University’s property almost two years ago, public safety officials would not release a report from the day the incident occurred because of “student confidentiality.” The Public Safety office would not comment on the incident nor return requests for an interview.
According to one University student, the memory of this day is still inscribed in his mind, while the rest of the University is unaware of the crime even though the commission of such an act would be a class E felony today.
Andrew Zamer, a senior finance major, lived in a single room on the sixth floor of Vanderpoel and said that he vividly remembers how public safety officials reacted when called to the scene of this crime. He said that the officers acted in a joking manner and he was distraught by their lack of seriousness.
“When I called to notify public safety about the way the officers acted, they didn’t even know what a swastika was,” said Zamer. He took multiple pictures of the bathroom stall walls because he wanted to make sure the University took proper action. Swastikas were found on all the inside walls of each men’s bathroom stall, as well as on the toilet paper dispenser.
“After they left I still saw it and couldn’t get away from it. Every time I walked into the bathroom it was still there,” Zamer added.
Senior Michael Notarile, who lived on the same floor at the time of the incident, said that he felt disgusted and uncomfortable when seeing his bathroom.
“The swastika offends not just Jews but Catholics, Germans, etcetera,” Notarile said. He said that he feels very strongly about such an offense and was unaware of how the University handled this incident.
“I think it is terrible that they didn’t take it seriously, but I also think there are plenty of prejudices every day that go unnoticed or uncared for,” Notarile added. “For example, students, films, TV shows and professors all make priest jokes or Christian jokes and no one speaks up or thinks twice about it.”
On June 7, Gov. George Pataki signed a law categorizing cross burning and swastika graffiti as a class E felony. The law applies to anyone who “etches, paints, draws upon or otherwise places a swastika, commonly exhibited as the emblem of Nazi Germany, on any building or other real property, public or private, owned by any person, firm or corporation or any public agency without express permission of the owner or operator of such building or real property; or sets a cross on fire in public view.”
A person is guilty of aggravated harassment in the first degree if that person does such acts with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person because of a belief or perception.
In a press release notifying the public about the law, New York State Assemblyman William Colton said, “These terrible symbols of hatred have historically been used to instill terror and fear in people. This law sends a clear message that those who seek to use these symbols to terrorize people and create divisions in the community must face serious consequences.”
The law establishes that drawing swastikas and burning crosses are not the same as simple graffiti or vandalism, and have more severe consequences.
Zamer walked into a bathroom stall and found a swastika written on the wall.