Residents of Finlay Hall found what was likely an anti-gay message written on the white board of their door on Sept. 3. Residential Life staff notified Public Safety of the message, which initiated an investigation into the incident. The student body and the Fordham community were notified by Public Safety via email of this incident at 7:26 a.m. on Sept. 7.

Public Safety contacted the New York Police Department (NYPD), which has determined that the message does not constitute a hate crime, according to the email. Fordham Public Safety is continuing the investigation and staff are proceeding according to the bias incident and CARE/Title IX incident policies in the Student Handbook, which strictly prohibit this kind of conduct.

Public Safety and Residential Life have met with the students who appear to be the target of the message and those staff members and the Dean of Students have also been in touch with student government and other student leaders.

“The behavior in question, regardless of intent, falls far below the standard for any university, much less a Jesuit university,” Public Safety wrote in the email. “The University takes such offenses very seriously, and if identified and found responsible, the person or persons who left the graffiti will face severe Fordham disciplinary sanctions.”

This comes after four separate incidents this past academic year, including a racial bias incident on Sept. 13, anti-Semitic graffiti on Sept. 20 at the Rose Hill campus and two anti-Semitic incidents at the Lincoln Center campus on Nov. 12 and on March 9.

Developing…