A swastika drawing was discovered on a USC fencepost outside on Exposition Blvd., outside of a campus that is currently only available to students, staff and registered guests. The image was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“To see this unambiguous symbol of Jewish hatred on our campus is deeply distressing. There is no such place for such hostility and hate at USC,” USC Hillel said in a statement.
Hillel called for the administration “to demonstrate moral clarity and leadership, to condemn this overt act of antisemitism, and directly address hatred on our campus wherever it manifests.”
Fewer than 20 minutes after Hillel’s statement was posted, President Carol Folt posted on social media that she had been made aware of the swastika.
“I condemn any such hate symbols or any other forms of hate speech as deplorable,” she wrote. “Clearly, it was drawn right now just to incite even more anger at a time that is so painful for our community. We’re going to work to get to the bottom of this immediately.”
The statement was deleted and then reuploaded with an update shortly after to add, “and it has just been removed,” in reference to the swastika.
In Folt’s updated post, she also included that she “condemn[s] any antisemitic symbols or any hate speech against anyone.”
Over the last week, there have been numerous incidents of vandalism on campus, including the words “say no to genocide” being spray painted on Tommy Trojan and spray paint being left on the fountain near Alumni Park. No further information about the swastika drawing is known.