UNF student finds antisemitic symbol on dorm door

Carter Mudgett and Nathan Turoff

[Story updated at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sep. 25 to remove the hyphen between anti and Semitic in the headline. Story updated at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sep. 23 to correct a factual error about when the student’s Mezuzah was torn from their door.]

A Jewish University of North Florida (UNF) student found a sticky note with a Swastika drawing on their dorm room front door on Wednesday, according to a University Police Department (UPD) report. 

At around 5 p.m., UPD responded to a call about a sticky note and the student told them that they’d found the drawing on their door. 

Earlier in the month, on Sep. 6, the student’s Mezuzah — a traditional Jewish item attached to doorposts as a sign of faith — was torn down from their door, which had been with “very strong contact tape and glue,” the student told UPD, according to the report. 

“[They] said the only way that [their] Mezuzah could have come off the door post or frame by was by force,” but the student reattached it to the door the same day, UPD wrote in the report.

Spinnaker reached out to the university, who provided this statement from UNF President Moez Limayem. 

“This incident is deeply disturbing and goes against the core values of the University. UNF has clearly and consistently condemned symbols of hate, including swastikas, and other acts of bigotry. I want to reaffirm UNF’s commitment to civility and a respectful environment. The incident is currently under investigation by the University Police Department. If anyone has information relating to this incident, please contact the UPD.”

This is a developing news story that will be updated as Spinnaker finds more information. 

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