Hate crime in Baker
Hate crime in Baker
A hate crime involving paintings of a swastika, penis, and the letters “FU” occurred at Baker House over President Day weekend. The perpetrator has not been found, and the issue remains unresolved, according to the victims.
Around 3 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 20, Eric M. Emer ’14 and Vladislav O. Kontsevoi ’14 returned to their double in Baker to find it vandalized. A penis and “FU” were painted on their door and walls in spray paint, and a half pound of salt had been poured on their doorstep. Shortly after cleaning up the salt, the roommates returned to find a swastika painted on a plate outside their door.
In an e-mail sent to the baker-forum list that morning, Emer and Kontsevoi announced what had happened and told the perpetrator, “Stop. You better leave the money for cleaning [the room] under our door.” The e-mail garnered no public responses.
In an e-mail to The Tech Sunday afternoon, Kontsevoi and Emer described the event as “extremely childish.”
Though the roommates still do not know who committed the act, they speculated that the incident might be related to a bike theft that occurred earlier that night on the west side of the first floor of Baker.
An empty can of salt was later found by the west staircase in Baker.
The Baker housemasters could not be reached for comment. Campus Police Captain Jay A. Perault says the incident is currently under investigation.
—Jessica Pourian