Colorado State University’s (CSU) student government unanimously passed a resolution on Sept. 25 that denounced anti-Semitism after a swastika was discovered on campus a few days earlier.
The Rocky Mountain Collegian, the school’s newspaper, reports that the resolution made by the Associated Students of Colorado State University (ASCSU) urged “the student body to take a stand against anti-Semitic words and actions.”
“When a student carves [a swastika] on campus, you don’t need to stop and think about it,” ASCSU President Ben Amundson said. “You say that that’s not part of our University. That’s not a part of our community.”
Additionally, a bill appropriating $14,655 for Holocaust Awareness Week was unanimously passed during the meeting.
“This is causing awareness to our campus,” ASCSU Senator Alex Benitez said. “This will speak volumes to our community. Resolutions put our voices out there, but actions speak louder than words.”
On Sept. 19, a swastika was found drawn on a wall in an on-campus apartment complex. CSU President Joyce McConnell said at the time, “Whether individual or institutional, racism and bias is antithetical to the core mission of excellent higher education.”
Prior incidents of anti-Semitism on campus include the words “Heil Hitler!” being written on a student’s dormitory door whiteboard in 2017, causing community members to march against anti-Semitism shortly thereafter.
CSU Hillel said in a Sept. 26 Facebook post, “Thank you to the ASCSU for doing the right thing. Let the conversation not stop here. There is still a lot of work to do and we are always looking for more students to get involved. Hope today you can start to catch your breath, sleep a bit sounder and know that there is something being done to protect CSU Jewish students.”
