The Department of Public Safety (DPS) has opened an investigation into stickers with anti-Israel sentiments placed around campus, which were discovered by several students last weekend. University Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill confirmed in an email to The Daily Princetonian that DPS is investigating this as a bias incident.
This is the second bias incident related to the Israel-Palestine conflict this month. On Sept. 6, a graduate student found approximately 30 cutouts reading “Nuke Gaza” and “Kill Roaches” near an entryway in Spelman Hall, an incident which remains under investigation.
Following these discriminatory messages on campus, Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity Michele Minter addressed these bias incidents at a meeting of the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) on Monday. At the meeting, Minter reviewed Princeton’s Policy on Discrimination and/or Harassment, then discussed a specific subcategory of harassment — hostile environment harassment — in which “It has to be experienced by a person, but that person does not have to have been the person who was specifically targeted.” She requested the community to report graffiti and similar items to the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students (ODUS).
As President of Princeton Tigers for Israel, I am deeply disgusted and disturbed by such violent & antisemitic signs as:
— Maximillian Meyer (@MaxMeyerNY) September 30, 2024
- “Tel-Aviv will burn”
- “to free Palestine: Armed struggle +…PFLP” (terrorist organization) followed by a rifle (Hezbollah’s logo)
- “We support Hamas”… pic.twitter.com/loMYfZDqFo
Students found the stickers on Washington Road, Elm Drive, near McCosh, and around Cannon Green. Written on United States Postal Service mailing labels, they included statements like “Death to Israel,” and “Tel-Aviv will burn,” among other messages in support of Hamas.
Students involved with Tigers for Israel reported the stickers to administrators in ODUS, who passed the case on to DPS according to Maximillian Meyer ’27, president of Tigers for Israel. DPS removed the flyers on Monday, Sept. 30.
After reporting the flyers, students received emails of support from various campus figures, including Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students Ian Deas, Director for Institutional Equity and EEO Cheri Burgess, and heads of Residential Colleges.
The emails expressed concern for the students who reported the incidents, and pointed them towards various forms of support, including administrators in residential colleges, Counseling and Psychological Services, the Office of Religious Life, and the Ombuds Office. The emails also included links with information regarding the University’s Bias, Discrimination, and/or Harassment policies and how to file a bias report.
“Those are resources that might help a student who has had to contend with these sorts of messages,” Meyer said, referring to the resources sent to individual students following last weekend’s incident, “but it does nothing to get to the root of the problem, which is that people feel comfortable putting forth and posting these messages themselves.”
Meyer said that he had informal conversations with a staff member from ODUS and from DPS, who were both “supportive and understanding that this is something that cannot continue to go on,” and were invested in ensuring that students have support following these incidents.
“But at the same time, I think that there is something lacking — and that’s not on an individual level, but on an institutional level — where these sorts of events … get brushed under the rug,” Meyers said.
“It would be optimal if the University would put out a statement explicitly condemning the presence of these images, expressly condemning the messages put forth on these images and expressly condemning any violence or threats of violence to any group on or on campus,” he added.
In a statement to the ‘Prince,’ Minter wrote, “Princeton deplores all hateful speech, which undermines our values of respect and inclusion. Anonymous, offensive speech – particularly that which includes rhetorical threats of violence – is especially unwelcome.”
Elisabeth Stewart is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince’ who typically covers student groups and religious life on campus.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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