The University of Tennessee in Knoxville continues to be a target of hate messages as swastika symbols were found painted on the monument known as the Rock for the second time in two weeks.
The “symbols and messages of hate” were found by the officials on Sunday morning.
“This is the second time in as many weeks that the Rock has been used to communicate hate. These messages, which are hurtful and threatening to many members of our community, do not represent our Volunteer values,” the university said in a statement.
The latest incident comes two weeks after a student group held a vigil to honor the worshippers killed at Pittsburgh synagogue last month and painted the Rock with “Stronger Than Hate” word. Days after the vigil, students noticed that the words were changed to “Stronger Through Hate” with a swastika symbol.
After the latest incident, the university’s campus police has increased the surveillance across the campus.
Signs of hate & bigotry have no place on our Rock or our campus.
Attempts to divide our community have & will always fall short because as Vols, we stand undivided against injustice. pic.twitter.com/fKK3NT2s05
— Ovi Kabir (@TheOviKabir) November 11, 2018
“The safety and security of our students, faculty, and staff is the university’s number one priority. The UT Police Department has increased surveillance, campus-wide, as a response to these incidents,” the university said.
The last few weeks have seen a surge in anti-Semitic activities at various campuses in the country. Earlier this week, an activist group revealed the connection of a Davidson College student to a twitter account posting anti-Semitic and racist tweets.
