AMHERST — An incident described as “an act of blatant and deplorable anti-Semitism” on the Hampshire College campus this week is being investigated as a criminal matter by college police, according to a memo sent to students and employees by President Jonathan Lash Wednesday afternoon.
The incident allegedly occurred Tuesday at about 1:45 a.m. in Greenwich Donut 1, a section of residential housing located north of the main quad.
College spokesman John Courtmanche said in an email no further information is being released yet.
“The college is unable to comment further because it’s an active investigation being led by our campus police,” Courtmanche said.
Lash’s memo asks people with information about the incident to contact campus police, as well as to report previous incidents, including anti-Semitic graffiti, that authorities may not know about.
“The Hampshire community, including individual members of our community, has been subjected to acts of anti-Semitism over the last few years,” Lash wrote. “Some of these were reported to authorities and prompted campus meetings and introspection, in addition to widespread condemnation, disgust, and, yes, a deep sadness. We can and we must be better than this.”
Lash added that incidents that have not been reported means inhibiting the college’s means of responding and offering support.
“These are acts of cowardice intended to intimidate and hurt all of us. But I want to assure you that they will not deter us from our commitment to stand together against hate and bigotry,” Lash wrote. “They do not reflect who we are as a community of learners. They do not represent our shared values.”
The college is holding a Stay Engaged! 2018 week of events related to social justice education, dialogue and community building, including a panel discussion and group conversation providing the history and context for recent anti-Semitic graffiti on the campus.
Most of the events are just for the Hampshire College community. Open to the public are the DEAFinitions Conference Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., sponsored by the Hampshire College Deaf Studies Collective with registration in the lobby of Franklin Patterson Hall Lobby, and the 11th Annual Eric N. Schocket Memorial Lecture on Class and Culture, “Feminism and the Politics of the Commons,” by Silvia Federici, professor emerita at Hofstra University March 29 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the main lecture hall at Franklin Patterson Hall.
