Swastika Found In Lowell House

Students found a swastika and graffiti with the words "Fuck the Jews" on a wall in Lowell House M-entry late last week.

Abigail S. Kolodny '95, who first discovered the vandalism, said she was "deeply offended" by the act. Koiodny, who is Jewish, said others in her entryway were similarly "horrified."

Sgt. William Donaldson of the Harvard Police said no suspect had been named as of yesterday and that the incident was still under investigation.

Lowell House Assistant Senior Tutor Christoph H. Luthy, who lives in the entry, said Kolodny brought the incident to his attention Friday morning.

Several Jewish students live in M-entry, but none of them live in the room closest to the graffiti, Luthy said.

Most M-entry students interviewed yesterday said they had not seen the graffiti because it had been covered so quickly.

Luthy said "very few people" saw the graffiti. He said he called the Harvard police, but maintenance workers had painted over the markings by the time officers arrived.

Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel Chair Jeremy A. Dauber '94 could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Lowell House Co-Master William H. Bossert said ysterday he was "quite concerned" about the incident.

But Luthy said the incident should be played down.

"There's no reason to make a hype over it because that's exactly what the people who did this would have wanted," Luthy said. "People want to provoke. They want to cause a scandal."

After the graffiti had been removed, Luthy put up a sign on the entry door to condemn the act. The sign called the act "abominable," and said the offenders would "be punished severely".

Bossert said if the perpetrators were outsiders, he wished to determine how they got access to the entry.

Students sometimes hold doors open when they should not, he said. With the Lowell, House opera and other recent events, the house "has been pretty open," he said.

Several swastikas appeared November in the elevator of the Mather House tower, prompting students to solicit signatures on a statement condemning the graffiti

Lowell House Co-Master William H. Bossert said ysterday he was "quite concerned" about the incident.

But Luthy said the incident should be played down.

"There's no reason to make a hype over it because that's exactly what the people who did this would have wanted," Luthy said. "People want to provoke. They want to cause a scandal."

After the graffiti had been removed, Luthy put up a sign on the entry door to condemn the act. The sign called the act "abominable," and said the offenders would "be punished severely".

Bossert said if the perpetrators were outsiders, he wished to determine how they got access to the entry.

Students sometimes hold doors open when they should not, he said. With the Lowell, House opera and other recent events, the house "has been pretty open," he said.

Several swastikas appeared November in the elevator of the Mather House tower, prompting students to solicit signatures on a statement condemning the graffiti