Multiple incidents of graffiti were reported at various locations around campus during the winter break, according to the Cornell University Police Department crime log. Much of the graffiti contained similar themes, symbols and phrases. The crime log indicates that CUPD officers were dispatched to take reports of spray-painted graffiti — listed under the category of “criminal mischief” — on Goldwin Smith Hall, the A.D. White statue, the base of Baker Flagpole, Milstein Hall, Balch Hall and the Risley Hall bus stop. Balch Hall and Goldwin Smith Hall reported multiple incidents. The crime log indicated that graffiti was also spray painted at the intersection of Cornell Avenue and University Avenue.
“At this point, only the perpetrator of these crimes could explain what their motivation is and what exactly they were hoping to communicate.” — Chief Kathy Zoner
A hammer and sickle, a common communist symbol, was spray painted on both a statue of A.D. White on the Arts Quad and Baker Flagpole on West campus.