Newark, DE – University of Delaware police are investigating after Journalism Professor Dawn Fallik, who is Jewish, found a swastika drawn on a poster that hung on her office door, along with the words “We Are Everywhere.”
According to an email sent to staff by the chair of the English department, the swastika was spotted Monday morning. It was drawn on a poster promoting a drag performance that the professor organized years ago.
Both the school’s associate dean and UD police were contacted about the symbol, the email said. Police responded to the professor’s Memorial Hall office and took the poster.
University Police Chief Patrick Ogden said while a detective was quickly assigned to the case, “everyone from our criminal investigative unit is also following leads on this.” He said police are investigating the drawing as a potential hate crime, given modern-day swastikas are hate symbols.
Ogden added that he could not yet say whether the poster was chosen for a reason and if it was targeting the LGBTQ community. But he also said police were not ruling that out.
“You want to consider everything as a possibility, but you also don’t want to assume anything,” Ogden said. “It’s certainly a possibility that we’re exploring, but until we can identify who is responsible and what their motives are, I’m a little hesitant to say definitively that that’s why this happened.”
