The Justice

Media Credit: David Fudman

For those on this campus who have not yet heard, a swastika was painted onto the exterior of North Quad's AB Lounge last week.

I will start my article with questions, but the answers will not come in the words that follow - they may only come through joint campus action.

Why did University President Jehuda Reinharz fail to send an e-mail condemning the swastika the day it was discovered? Why was Rev. Nathaniel Mays' e-mail several days after the incident? Where is the campus-wide condemnation by the Intercultural Center? Why has there not been a public outcry by various campus groups that claim to be pillars of tolerance and respect? Why have there been no rallies? Why has there been no protest? Senate resolutions? Emergency meetings? Where are the very vocal students who responded to last semester's hateful acts now?

Upon asking Student Union President Joshua Brandfon '05 why he had not penned a letter to the Brandeis community, he responded that he first read about the incident in the Justice. It has been seven days since then with no response.

Especially, but by no means exclusively, due to our heightened sensitivity from last semester's hateful incidents, the silence on this campus in the wake of this regressive act is inconceivable. With regard to Brandeis' record of intolerance, such silence only adds insult to injury, as hate crimes yet again threaten to move our campus from growth to paralysis.

Few symbols in modern times are as deeply hurtful in representation, meaning and history as the swastika. A mere 60 years ago, its prongs tore through millions of Jews, gays, gypsies and other minorities, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. The swastika mercilessly destroyed the European Jewish community and crippled world Jewry in a way that has yet to be mended. To this day, there are nearly 20 percent fewer Jews in the world than there were before the Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities.

It is unfathomable to think that campus ambivalence to a swastika would stem from ignorance. While made famous by the Nazis during World War II, the swastika tragically remains a symbol of hate across the contemporary world.

With purely constructive ambitions in mind, it is essential to investigate and scrutinize the lack of Administration and student response to this despicable hate crime. Moreover, we must reverse this silence and reply with strength and conviction.

Continued...

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