Image by Stanford Hillel

Several swastikas have reportedly been found scrawled on the campus of Stanford University and the surrounding neighborhood of Palo Alto, California.

“We do not know exactly when it occurred since the university has been on winter break closure since December 21st until today (Wednesday),” Bill Larson, a spokesman for the campus police, told the San Jose Mercury. “We take something like this very seriously,” he added, saying that his office was closely working with the Palo Alto cops. “The detectives are doing their best to look for video evidence to find who did it.”

According to the report, the swastikas (often badly drawn) popped up on 10 street signs near and within the prestigious university’s campus. One of the swastikas was accompanied with the words “No Jews Allowed.” Police are treating the incident as a hate crime, and have removed the offending symbols from the street signs.

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Cory Wolbach, a Palo Alto city councilman, denounced the vandalism, and said that he learned about it Monday night, promptly going to one of the street signs and using alcohol wipes to remove the swastika. “When we passed our resolution last month supporting an inclusive community and rejecting bigotry (including specifically calling out anti-semitism), some asked if it was necessary,” he told the San Jose Mercury, referring to the city council’s response to President-elect Donald Trump’s election. Wolbach said by email Tuesday. “Sadly, we now see how important it is. Palo Alto is a wonderful community, but not immune from bigotry and hate crimes.”

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

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