More hateful vandalism found on Macalester College campus

A series of swastikas and hateful markings drawn and carved into various surfaces on the Macalester College in St. Paul is causing confusion and dismay from all corners of campus, with many students saying this is the opposite sort of behavior they'd expect from their "progressive" school.

It started sometime Oct. 14 or before, with a swastika carved into the door of a residence hall door. Then, almost two weeks later, another turned up on a bulletin board inside George Draper Dayton Hall, an undergraduate dormitory.

Finally, last Thursday anti-Arab hate speech was discovered on a custodial closet door, adding insult to injury for students struggling to comprehend the recurring acts of racism.

"There was one incident of this last year, so we thought it was an isolated incident," Macalester sophomore Steven Ngo said. "I'm just shocked especially at a place like this that we're seeing more [hateful vandalism]."

But, for the most part students say the incidents don't define the school, with many pledging to respond with love for their fellow students and the diversity they hope to promote.

"The stuff you learn here you're going to take way beyond the classroom into the real world," student-athlete Tyler Seaberg said. "You have to edge it out. It always has to be love. It's always love."