The Hanover Police Department is investigating two new incidents of racist graffiti directed against two Asian-American students that occurred early yesterday morning and again late last night.
Cathy An '97 and Jannet Oh '98 discovered the word "chinks" written in two-inch high letters on the metal door of their apartment above Murphy's Tavern when they returned home around 2 a.m. yesterday morning. The word seemed to be written with a yellow highlighter pen, Hanover Police Detective Sergeant Frank Moran said.
Sometime between 10:30 p.m. and midnight last night, someone rewrote the word "chinks," this time in blue ball-point pen, An said.
An said the police believe the slurs were written by two different people, because of differences in the handwriting on the door.
An said she was in her apartment last night when the racial slur on her door was retraced in blue pen.
Oh said the remarks on her apartment door may have been triggered by a flyer condemning the first hate incident that had been taped to their door.
"We had on our door the 'I will not be silent' flyer," Oh said. "It looks like it was spontaneous, that the flyer triggered it."
Oh said she thinks the perpetrator knew she and her roommate are Asian-American. But, she said, "we have no idea who it is ... I wouldn't even be able to speculate."
Moran agreed the graffiti may have been instigated by the flyer. But, he said, the flyer "had been there for at least a week."
"The key to this thing is most likely information someone inside the building may have," he said.
Moran added that the police are interviewing the victims' neighbors.
If the vandals are found, they could face charges of disorderly conduct, which carries a maximum fine of $1,000, Moran said.
Oh said she was "really offended, especially because of what just happened ... It seems our fight has been so futile."
An said she was stunned.
"I couldn't believe this happened. My final feeling was one of deep sadness," she said.
An said it was ironic that the first incident occurred on the night of the first Colors meeting.
Colors is a new student group, comprised of the leaders of seven campus minority groups.
An and Oh had left the first slur in yellow highlighter to show "what someone in this community did to someone of the same community," An said.
But, she said, she removed the blue slur on the advice of Hanover Police.
Police thought leaving the slur on the door might incite further incidents, An said.
On Jan. 14, two different Asian American students residing in the Choates cluster were the victims of a similar incident.
Hanover Police has arrested Jeffrey Link '98 for allegedly writing the first slur. But Moran said he does not suspect Link of being involved in Thursday morning's incident .
