Signs supporting first-gen students on display in a window of the First Generation residential community on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019. (Sally Gu/B&W Staff)
The First-Generation themed housing—once home to Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity—was vandalized with eggs by an unknown individual or individuals.
It is unclear if the first-generation community was targeted and when the vandalism first occurred, according to a Sept. 18 email sent from the Office of the President.
“There were numerous other ‘eggings’ on campus, according to the LUPD, which was initially notified about some of the campus-wide vandalism, but not about the First Gen House,” the email said.
The Lehigh University Police Department will be looking at surveillance videos to try to identify the individuals, the email said.
Recently, the Jewish Student Center was also vandalized.
Donald Outing, the vice president for equity and community, said “the faculty, staff and students of Lehigh University are committed to building a campus culture that embraces all people and reflects a commitment to welcoming and celebrating the diversity of our community,” in a Sept. 11 email.
These incidents have not been the only acts of vandalism and prejudice on campus.
The UMOJA house, a multicultural community focused on unity, was vandalized in November 2013 with graffiti of racial slurs and eggs. The perpetrator was a Lehigh student in Sigma Chi fraternity, and he and the chapter were charged for violations against the Code of Conduct.
In April 2018, student Yukai Yang vandalized residence hall Warren Square, damaging his roommate’s property and writing racist comments.
The Pride Center was vandalized in May 2019 after a gender-neutral restroom across the hall was also vandalized. The act was racist and homophobic.
“We clearly have much work to do. We can and we must do better. It is our shared responsibility to continue on this journey toward a better Lehigh,” the email from the Office of the President said.
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2 Comments
I am very disappointed with the ready, fire, aim, attitude of the B&W and the President. Why are they so ready to call out students en masse instead of completing the investigation first?
The focus should be on Lehigh PD at this time. The Lehigh PD…with its drone and bomb sniffing dog and cameras…how does it miss finding a person or team egging multiple houses on campus? Such lack of policing doesn’t make students or parents feel like the campus is safe. Once the culprit is identified then the you can roast her…but until then do not inpune the good reputation of the student body as whole.
So, this article did not the make the first page, however the article on the Jewish center did. I thought there was discrepancies in the reporting, and did digging and found this, discovering there were discrepancies. Why aren’t articles about our community not getting the same attention, why is it that the Jewish center article had students who were interviewed yet this only had administrators?
The real question is: why are our voices being silenced?