A swastika outlined in condensation was found on a window at an off-campus house where several Brandeis students live, according to an email sent to the student body from Interim President Lisa Lynch on April 2. Students found the graffiti during an unofficial event hosted by a Jewish student group.

“That a swastika, with all the horrors it represents, would be marked anywhere is reprehensible,” Lynch wrote. “[A]nd when our students may have been the target of this symbol of hatred, we are compelled to speak out against injustice.”

The University has notified the Waltham Police Department about the graffiti, according to Lynch’s email, and University Police “will work with them in every way possible to identify the perpetrator(s).” The email further urged anyone with information on the incident to contact the Waltham Police.

In a phone interview with the Justice, Alpha Epsilon Pi International Director of Communication Jon Pierce confirmed that the residents of the house were members of the Jewish fraternity.

In an emailed statement to the Hillel listserv, Hillel at Brandeis wrote that it was “shocked and disheartened to learn of the anti-semitic [sic] graffiti … and that the joy of Shabbat [sic] for our community was disrupted by such a hate filled act.”

“All members of the Hillel at Brandeis staff are available to help support students as we try to come together and heal from this terrible incident,” the email read. “May this week bring a return to the sense of safety that we hope all students feel as members of the Brandeis and Waltham community.”

In a Facebook statement, the Student Union condemned the drawing of the swastika and urged the student body to “stand up against hate speech in any and every form, whether in paint or window condensation.”

J Street U Brandeis and the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee both issued Facebook statements similarly condemning the incident.

—Carmi Rothberg