Brown University condemns campus anti-Semitic incident

JTA

Students sitting in the College Green outside Sayles Hall on the Brown University campus in Providence, Rhode Island. (Wikimedia Commons)

(JTA) — Brown University condemned an incident in which two people displayed a “vulgar and highly offensive anti-Semitic sign” on campus.

The two people, who are not associated with the university, were seen making a video of themselves with the sign while trying to talk to people on campus, the Providence Journal reported Friday, citing a statement from Shontay Delalue, the university’s vice president for institutional equity and diversity.

The incident occurred on Tuesday, according to the report. The statement did not detail exactly what the sign said.

“At Brown, while we welcome free expression, behavior that creates a hostile environment on campus is not tolerated. This includes expressions of hatred based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and any other protected classes. I and other members of Brown’s senior leadership — including the offices of the President, Provost and Campus Life — have been in close discussion to learn as much information as possible about this incident. We are saddened that some Brown community members and campus visitors had to witness such abhorrent behavior,” Delalue said in a statement addressed to “Members of the Brown Community.”

She said that her office is scheduled to introduce a new on-line bias incident reporting system in Spring 2019, which “will make it easier for Brown students and employees to report incidents, and for Brown to monitor trends and patterns.”

Jewish students make up about 14 percent of Brown undergraduate students, according to the Hillel College Guide.