University of Denver. Photo: CW221/Wikimedia Commons.

University of Denver has opened an investigation of a spate of antisemitic incidents on campus.

According to Hillel at Denver University (DU Hillel), over the past several weeks mezuzahs belonging to three Jewish students have been “taken down and defiled” and one of the students “had pork products glued to their door.”

“DU’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX (EOIX) is pursuing an investigation of these incidents, including a thorough review of video footage from campus safety,” Chancellor Jeremy Haefner said on Friday. “EOIX will work alongside the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, which oversees student conduct cases, and take appropriate steps to address the conduct and hold those found responsible accountable for their actions.”

Haefner added that the university will hold an educational event on antisemitism and another, “Jewnity Shabbat Hop,” which Hillel is co-sponsoring. The university’s Campus Safety Department will report the incidents as hate crimes, per the Clery Act, a law passed in 1998 that requires schools to report their crime statistics to the US Department of Education.

“In the wake of moments like these — moments that shake a community’s trust — the effects are deeply felt by those who share the identity of those targeted,” Haefner continued. “It is also felt by those who know and love those individuals and by everyone working each day for a better, kinder world. Let us cling firmly not only to our ideals but also to the knowledge that this moment does not reflect who we are or who we want to be.”

Denver University Hillel said on Tuesday that it is “shocked and angry” about the incidents and called on students to “stand up for your Jewish friends and not be a bystander.” In another, separate statement issued on the same day, University of Denver said “these acts are not acceptable within DU’s community.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.