University Police began investigating a possible hate incident in Dorchester Hall yesterday after two female roommates were called Nazis in a message left on their dorm room door’s dry-erase board.
Sophomores Andrea Rothschild and Blythe Dillingham discovered the expletive-ridden message when they woke up Sunday and almost immediately brought it to their resident assistant’s attention.
“I think that’s offensive to anyone,” Rothschild said. “Saying someone is a Nazi is almost one of the worst things you can say to someone.”
The incident follows in the wake of other hate-related crimes on the campus this semester, including a noose hung outside Nyumburu Cultural Center and a swastika vandals spray-painted on a car parked on Fraternity Row.
Paul Dillon, the spokesman for University Police, said officers were contacted and have since begun trying to identify possible suspects and determine a motive.
“These type of things are very difficult to solve if there’s no witnesses,” Dillon said. “There’s no criminal evidence to process.”
Announcements were sent to all Dorchester residents, notifying them of the situation, imploring people with information to come forward and reminding residents of the importance of mutual respect.
Shock struck many of the residents on the third floor, where Rothschild and Dillingham live, including sophomore marketing major Elizabeth Greenblatt and freshman psychology major Elysha Weissglass who are good friends with the roommates.
“We all thought it was a direct attack,” said Greenblatt. “It was almost like they wanted someone to notice it.”
Weissglass agreed, adding that she could not believe anyone would make such cruel comments.
“I was just shocked, just really shocked,” Weissglass said. “I can’t think of anybody I know that would do something like that.”
Rothschild and Dillingham aren’t sure if they were specifically targeted or if the message can be chalked up to another student’s intoxicated antics.
“I’ve never done anything intentionally to someone in this dorm,” Dillingham said. “If I came across as arrogant I would be more than apologetic.”
While Rothschild is Jewish, she said she isn’t very observant, and it’s not likely her religion would prompt someone to reference the Holocaust.
Neither roommate expects a suspect to be found because it’s not likely someone would admit to writing the hateful language. The investigation does have principle, they said, because people need to be held accountable for what they say.
“People don’t realize what they’re saying and how it offends people,” Dillingham said.
Greenblatt agreed.
“We all live in a community,” Greenblatt said. “Whether or not someone has a problem with Andrea and Blythe, people should know its not the right way to handle things.”
Last year, Rothschild said she was falsely cited for a hate crime after someone she didn’t know followed her into the dorm and tore down a gay pride flag.
“I feel like they take these things very seriously,” Rothschild said.
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