President Rick Commons reported the third on-campus antisemitic vandalism incident this year during a Senior Class Meeting assembly Friday. He said a swastika was found carved into a desk. 

In his speech, Commons said the school had also discovered a swastika etched in a different desk earlier this year, along with swastikas drawn on a whiteboard. Neither of those incidents had been formally announced to students and parents. 

Commons did previously reveal one case of vandalism in an email Oct. 12, which said several swastikas and the words “Hitler Rocks” were found carved into a Seaver Academic Center desk. 

When announcing the discovery of the first carved swastika, Commons said he condemns both the incident on campus as well as intensifying antisemitism around the world.  

“These hateful words and symbols should cause all of us to feel pain, fear and anger,” Commons said. “This is an offense to all of us, not just our Jewish students and community members, for whom we feel special concern as we condemn both this disturbing incident at HW and the awful rise of antisemitism around the world.”