WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williams College is investigating the defacement of posters calling attention to Israelis being held hostage by the Hamas terrorist group.

 

In a letter to the campus community on Thursday evening Williams President Maud Mandel said the graffiti was found Wednesday night at the Paresky student center and included language that, "supported violence against Israelis."

 

"Any defacement of posters is disrespectful, but the call for violence in this case is a breach of both college values and Williams policies," Mandel wrote. "We have removed the defaced posters and are seeking information about the individuals responsible."

 

Mandel's letter included a link to a page on Williams' website outlining various policies, including one on "campus postings" and another on "campus protest."

 

"The College seeks to assure the ability of all students to express themselves freely," the postings policy reads, in part. "At the same time, Williams has a responsibility to ensure that no member of this community is intimidated, harassed, or subjected to a hostile learning or work environment. While allowing the broadest possible space for expression, the college may in specific cases remove postings that are deemed to have this effect. In cases that may violate the Williams Code of Conduct, the college will also pursue disciplinary processes."

 

As for the protest policy, it includes the following language: "A single person or group of people does not have the right to prevent the public expression of others (e.g., preventing an invited speaker from being heard)," and, "Protests may not jeopardize anyone's physical safety."

 

The incident at the Paresky Center, which includes campus mailboxes, meeting rooms and one of the college's main cafeterias, coincides with Williams' final exam week for the fall semester and the end of the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah.

 

It also comes at a time of numerous reports of incidents of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on college campuses nationwide, including an incident last month near the University of Vermont, where three college-aged men speaking in Arabic and wearing keffiyehs were shot in the street by a Burlington resident.

 

"The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights has made clear that colleges and universities bear responsibility for responding to incidents of discriminatory harassment that create a hostile environment," Mandel wrote in her Thursday email. "As a matter of principle, we are going to embrace Williams' ethical and educational obligation to maximize space for free expression—including speech that others might find objectionable—while setting and upholding limits that ensure an education free of hostility and harassment. It is possible, and arguably necessary, that we find ways to disagree passionately on topics like the Middle East conflict without descending into urging violence."

 

Her email included the phone number of the college's Campus Safety Services office with an appeal for anyone with relevant information to contact the authorities.

 

It also indicated that campus personnel, including in the Chaplain's Office and the Davis Center, part of the school's Office for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, are available for college community members who need to talk about the incident.

 

Mandel ended her letter by reaffirming the college's commitment to free discussion of ideas.

 

"The college will continue to support programs that foster reflection, study and debate on such issues. But we will do so within a set of rules meant to ensure that everyone can live and learn here free from hostility and harassment," she wrote.