University of Maryland Police are investigating hate bias incidents in Queen Anne’s Hall and La Plata Hall that were reported over the weekend.
On Sept. 2 at 3:40 p.m., a student reported to police that someone had written anti-LGBTQ comments on whiteboards in Queen Anne’s Hall, police spokesperson Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas wrote in an email. The student also said they’d heard anti-LGBTQ comments.
Later that day, at 8:07 p.m., University Police also responded to La Plata Hall for a swastika that had been drawn onto a whiteboard between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Hoaas wrote.
Police are still investigating each of these cases, Hoaas said.
“In both incidents, a detective was immediately assigned, witness canvasses were conducted and follow-up interviews were completed,” she wrote in an email. “Video reviews of the cameras in the area of both locations are underway along with a review of the card swipe access system.”
The incidents come after last school year’s string of hate bias incidents, 15 of which were later verified by the university’s administration.
In October, police charged a former university employee with malicious destruction of property in connection with a swastika spray-painted on a campus trash cart. In January, they charged another former university employee after “racially charged” writings were found in a North Campus Dining Hall bathroom.
