An SMU voice student found the inscription “Free Palestine = Kill Jews” on the wall of one of the music practice rooms in the Owen Arts Center on Tuesday.
The handwriting is slightly different on either side of the equals sign, meaning that the graffiti could have been written by two different people. There was a drawing of a heart next to the words “Free Palestine.”
SMU Police Captain Jimmy Winn confirmed to The Daily Campus that an investigation into the graffiti is underway.
A voice student reported the graffiti to Barbara Hill Moore, Meadows’ senior associate dean for faculty and professor of voice. Professor Moore declined to give a statement until the investigation has been completed. She did tell The Daily Campus that she hopes the graffiti is an isolated incident.
The graffiti comes at a time of rising tensions across U.S. college campuses over the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups, including numerous protests and encampments. However, other than a pro-Palestine walk-out led by SMU’s Palestine Solidarity Committee in late January, there have not been student-led protests on this campus.
The investigation into this incident is ongoing. The Daily Campus will update this story as more information becomes available.
