Looking at the sidewall in the Dolan Hall elevator you wouldn’t necessarily see them right away. But once you see them, it is hard not to keep staring at the swastikas.
“I’m in disbelief that no one was doing anything about it,” Courtney Cashman ’05 said. “They need to either paint over it or do whatever they have to do to remove it.”
But according to the Director of Housing Operations Gary Stephenson, the university’s housing custodial service cleaned the swastikas on March 14 as soon as the graffiti was reported but could not remove the etchings that were carved into the panels.
Stephenson said the housing operations department has been investigating the issue and determining the best way to remove the carvings of the swastikas.
To replace the panels would cost the Dolan floor more than $2,000, which is why the department is looking to find filler that would bond properly inside the etching, as well as look aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Stephenson said to replace it is unreasonable for economical purposes if students are going to graffiti the walls again.
But the elevator walls of Dolan are not the only place on campus where hate messages have been noticed.
According to Nick Benaquista ’05, offensive graffiti in the Dolan School of Business has been visible all semester until Tuesday when the graffiti was removed.
Offensive graffiti, however, is an uncommon occurrence at Fairfield, said Dean Mark Reed.
“In terms of prevention, residents are probably the best line of defense since they live where it occurs,” he said. “RAs, Public Safety officers, or others can also try to catch those responsible, but that is not always easy – given the relative ease and speed in which someone can write something on a wall.”
Director of Residence Life Laura Cantrell said that RAs make rounds through the dorms every night noting graffiti and reporting any offensive graffiti.
She said that offensive graffiti is always removed at the latest by the following day.
“I’ve never had a problem with having things taken care of immediately,” Cantrell said.
Sean Dowd, the residence hall coordinator of Dolan, was unable to be reached for comment.
According to John Ritchie of Public Safety, the public safety officers make rounds each night in all campus buildings, checking on bathrooms, lounges and stairways.
According to a report published by the U.S. Department of Education, in 2000, 71 simple assault hate crimes were reported in the U.S. at four-year private non-profit colleges or universities. There were 59 hate crimes in 2001 and 37 hate crimes reported in 2002.
Cashman, who is a resident of Dolan Hall, said that that it is absurd for a student to think that carving a swastika is acceptable.
“It is no small issue that there is a swastika in the elevator,” she said.
Alisha Holland ’05 said that she hasn’t heard many of the students in Dolan Hall troubled over the graffiti.
“I am upset about it and have been for the entire month that they have been in the elevator.”
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