Three Swastikas were discovered at Vanderbilt University. Photo: Vanderbilt University

The Vanderbilt University Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan Wente on Monday condemned acts of antisemitic vandalism at a Vanderbilt fraternity house committed over the weekend.

According to a statement issued by the university, three swastikas were found at the Alpha Epsilon Pi Jewish fraternity house. Two swastikas were spray-painted in the fraternity elevator, and another on its basement door. The university believes the swastikas were painted late Saturday night.

The University said it does not know who painted the swastikas, but is investigating the incident as a hate crime.

“Regardless of who is responsible and what the motivation was, the university condemns the reprehensible depiction of this symbol that since the time of Nazi Germany has come to be associated with hate, antisemitism, violence, death and murder,” Wente said

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity executive director Andrew Borans applauded the “quick and positive actions taken by the Vanderbilt University administration and its partners at Hillel and Chabad.”

“I believe that a spray-painted swastika, by definition, can’t be seen as a mischievous act of vandalism,” Vanderbilt Hillel Executive Director Ari Dubin told The Algemeiner. “Vanderbilt Police are investigating it as a hate crime, and I wholeheartedly support that decision.”

Vanderbilt University is located in Nashville, TN, and is considered one of the top schools in the nation.

According to the Weekly Standard, the swastika vandalism was not the first incident of antisemitism at the university. In 2005, a student placed a pig head in front of the campus Jewish Life building during the high holy days. Administrators reportedly called the pig head incident an act of anti-vegetarianism, not an act of antisemitism.