Swastika sketches found on picnic table

A drawing of a swastika was found on a picnic table by a student from the T.C. Williams School of Law on Oct. 14.

It was not immediately clear how long the pencil drawing had been on the table, or whether a member of the university community had sketched it, according to an e-mail to faculty, staff and students from law school dean John Douglass.

Several people, related and unrelated to the university, have access to the table, which is in a public place, said Beth Simonds, university police captain. The crime is currently classified as vandalism and cannot be called a hate crime until police know who did it and why they did it, Simonds said. A crime is classified as a hate crime when the intent of the perpetrator was to injure or intimidate others. It does not depend on how the images were received.

Along with the swastika, there were images of a peace sign, a sun and a cross. The table was removed sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Douglass wrote that when the student found the sketch Tuesday, it was reported to law school officials, who then reported it to university police.

K.B. Levin, director of the on-campus Jewish student group Hillel, said hearing about the incident Wednesday morning worried her.

"There are a lot of scary things for people of religion going on in the world right now," she said. "The one thing I'm thankful for is that I live in a place where I don't have to worry about it -- where I can be who I am, and it is encouraged. I'm worried that this sort of thing will cause people to withdraw and be afraid to be open [about their religion]."

But she said considering the incident an act of ignorance would be equally inappropriate.

"You can't just say, 'Billy grew up this way,'" Levin said. "It's not acceptable in a university setting to just stay in a like-minded pool of friends."

Douglass wrote in the e-mail that "university police will make every effort to find the perpetrator." Douglass encouraged anyone who had information about the incident to contact university police at 289-8911 or submit an anonymous tip through Silent Witness Web page.