Campus is reacting to our report that two roommates woke up to hate language on Sunday morning.
The two women, one Jewish and one African-American, claim they found drawings of 'KKK' and a swastika on the whiteboard of their suite.
Chaplain Jan Fuller condemned the incident in a message to the Elon community that was posted on the Religious Center's website.
"This is an unprecedented act of anti-Semitism for our campus, accompanied by all-too-familiar acts of racism," Fuller said. "We are ashamed and offended that such a mindset of bigotry is present in our community, and has been outwardly expressed in this manner. Our hearts are sorrowing for the pain of the students, and for the larger communities, who are being hurt by these actions and attitudes. Such actions and attitudes are not representative of our values at Elon."
In a joint letter on the Hillel section of Elon's website, Hillel Director Nancy Luberoff and Hillel Development and Jewish Life Associate Ginny Vellani both called the incident "sad" but praised Jewish life at Elon.
"The actions of this person do not diminish the dignity, pride, and openness of our community," they said. "You have created a place for Judaism at Elon that is welcoming and joyful; despite disappointments such as this one, we are strong. We may feel hurt or discouraged, but we have the power to see this not as a blow to our dignity but as a reminder of how much farther we have to go in educating and advocating for Judaism and other communities of difference in our world."
Following our report, some students wondered why there was no e-mail sent to the campus about the incident. In our Monday video interview with Dr. Smith Jackson, he explained why he isn't sending a mass email like he has for racial slur incidents in the past.
According to the Hillel website, the group is "working on a campus-wide event most likely as part of College Coffee on Tuesday, September 24, with a possible theme of "We are Elon".