On the evening of Saturday, Feb. 10, an ice sculpture carved by members of the Muslim student association, Al-Nur, was vandalized and destroyed, according to a campus-wide email sent from Dean of the College Scott Brown. The next morning, the sculpture was found broken on the ground, with the Palestinian flag lying beside smaller Israeli flags on the ground, according to photos obtained by The Dartmouth. The ice sculpture was created as part of the Winter Carnival ice sculpture contest and originally depicted an outline of Palestine, with a Palestinian flag draped across the podium underneath the sculpture.
In the email, Brown wrote that the College is investigating the incident and reaching out to affected students. Brown also referenced the Dartmouth principles of community, which state that students are expected to be “respectful of the rights and interests of others” and be “appreciative of the diversity of the community.” Brown wrote that the College will provide further details about events for students to support each other.
Brown did not mention the Israeli flags in his email to campus. College President Sian Beilock did not comment publicly on the incident by the time of publication.
Lieutenant Michael Schibuola from the Hanover Police Department wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth that the Department of Safety and Security notified HPD of the incident and that an investigation into this matter is “ongoing.”
Schibuola also wrote that criminal acts motivated by bias or hate towards a victim’s identity may be subject to extended penalties, such as imprisonment.
“In New Hampshire, if a criminal act is determined to have occurred and such crime was motivated by bias or hate, it could be subject to extended penalties for whatever crime is being charged,” he wrote.
DoSS director Keiselim Montás declined to comment.
The Dartmouth was not able to obtain any information about the suspects of the incident by the time of publication.
In response to the vandalism of the ice sculpture, Al-Nur and the Palestine Solidarity Coalition will host a teach-in about Palestine’s history and culture, according to an email sent by the PSC. The event will take place in the Shabazz Mural Room today at 5 p.m.
“Education is essential to combat hate, and we hope to be able to contribute to building a more inclusive campus environment,” the group wrote in a Listerv email.
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