[dropcap]For[/dropcap] some CU Boulder students, Friday, Nov. 1, was a tipping point. For a little over a year, pro-Israel students on campus have taken the cautious, civil approach in the face of anti-Israel provocations. Compared to other campuses, CU Boulder had never exploded into sustained anti-Israel and anti-Zionist actions.

Jewish students continued to advocate for Israel and some even formed a Students Supporting Israel chapter, but dialogue and education continued to be the community’s primary approach, said Jake Stone, a CU Boulder senior who is a member of the American Jewish Committee’s campus global board.

Since Oct. 7, 2023 he has been part of meetings with administrators and student leaders on campus, sharing the perspectives of pro-Israel students.

But the appearance of hate speech tagged across campus overnight Oct. 31-Nov. 1 has changed all that.

At about 7:30 a.m. “we started getting reports through Jewish student group chats that CU Boulder had been hit with a mass wave of tagging and vandalization,” Stone told the Intermountain Jewish News on Nov. 1.

Among the messages were “burn fascists burn” and “no justice on stolen land.”

These tags were not chalk, but permanent spray paint.

Stone went into action, contacting CU’s student government and the dean of students.

Campus staff spent hours on Friday removing the graffiti.

“Students are feeling both incredibly shocked and frustrated,” Stone told the IJN Friday afternoon. “We’re pretty fed up.”

Last semester, Stone and other CU Boulder students told the IJN that anti-Israel chalkings appeared on campus off and on. According to Stone, Dean of Students Devin Cramer met with pro- and anti-Israel students, as well as Jewish leaders on campus.

“The terms were pretty clear about any kind of chalking or tagging,” Stone says.

What happened Friday “is a blatant violation of student code. So for CU Boulder Jewish students, this is kind of the straw that’s broken the camel’s back.”

The school’s administration condemned the graffiti, calling it “antisemitic” and “illegal” in a Nov. 1 statement.

“The anti-Semitic messages contained in the vandalism violate the university’s policies on free expression and Campus Use of University Facilities, as well as Colorado law,” the statement read.

“CU Boulder strongly condemns tactics and messages such as these which target students, faculty and staff.”

[dropcap]CU[/dropcap] police began investigating as soon as the graffiti was discovered on Friday, but as of Monday afternoon there were no updates, Christine Mahoney, a spokesperson for CUPD and CU Boulder, told the IJN.

She said updates would be posted to the police’s social media accounts; the handle is @cuboulderpolice.

“CUPD continues to investigate and welcomes any tips from the public that could help identify the suspects in this case,” she said.

“The university encourages a campuswide culture of reporting and sharing concerns.

“Please contact CUPD at 303-492-6666 and reference case number 2024-2190.

“Tips can also be submitted anonymously to CUPD through Safe2Tell.”

On Tuesday, Mahoney confirmed to the IJN that as of Oct. 4, the campus’ branch of Students for Justice in Palestine, had been placed “in bad standing, which means it can no longer operate as a student organization.

That decision was a result of “alleged violations of the recognized student organization agreement which have led to student conduct investigations,” she said.

SJP is the group that Stone and others suspect may have been behind the Nov. 1 vandalism.

Mahoney clarified that “bad standing” means the group can no longer operate as a registered student organization which affords the ability to reserve space on campus at free and discounted rates, apply for funds, apply for office space, use campus systems including email for networking and recruitment, and more.

“Bad standing” does not preclude students from holding demonstrations, said Mahoney.

“Students who are affiliated with SJP have expressed their First Amendment right and continued to hold demonstrations on campus even after the organization was placed in bad standing. CU Boulder supports our campus community’s right to peacefully protest  — as protected by the First Amendment and university policy — so long as those activities do not violate campus policy, regent policy, state law or federal law. Those who are found in violation of these laws or policies will be held accountable.”

[dropcap]Elyana[/dropcap] Funk, director of Hillel of CU Boulder, told the IJN that the university’s administration, including the police, have been communicative.

“I felt pretty supported by the administration,” she said. “They reached out right away . . . they took it seriously.”

Funk said she heard from parents concerned for their children’s safety and that students were discussing the vandalism over Shabbat. Despite this, “our ‘Jewish Herd’ feels stronger than ever,” she said.

“Students have come together. We’ve seen a lot of leadership.

“Our antidote is Jewish joy and Jewish community and Jewish identity,” she said.

She acknowledges that Friday’s vandalism differed from previous incidents.

Both she and Stone said that what set the Nov. 1 incident apart from other anti-Israel activity on campus was its scope — around 20 tags across campus, according to Stone — and content.

“This wasn’t a legal protest,” said Funk, “this was illegal activity.”

Stone hoped that the severity of the vandalism would spark a stronger reaction from the administration.

“There has been an underlying expectation that Jewish and Zionist students have to be professional, cordial, respectful,” he said.

“We’re not playing on an even playing field . . . We’ve had enough,” he said, “it’s a problem that has been persisting.”

That message may have been received by the CU Boulder’s administration.

On Monday, Stone called the administration’s response “quick and firm.”

He said a message had been sent by the dean of students specifically addressing Jewish students. “We’re still in the process of meeting with school administration and legislative council members to address the issue, but so far so good,” he said.

As to any disciplinary measures that might be taken should the perpetrators be identified as CU Boulder students, Mahoney pointed to the university’s Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution’s Section I, which outlines the university’s sanctions process.

“Any identified suspects will be held accountable for their actions under the law,” she said.

But at least one Jewish CUBoulder student said she was concerned for her safety on campus.

Said senior Zoe Mardiks:“It was terrifying to wake up to hear that there was blatant anti-Semitism sprayed onto the dorms near where I lived freshman year.”

She was relieved that SJP has been placed into bad standing, but “that does not stop their ‘activism’,” she said.

© IJN 2024