MEMPHIS, TN – Vandals struck a University of Memphis fraternity house Tuesday. Cleanup crews tried to remove the signs of spray paint and swastikas off the fraternity row house. It’s not a laughing matter for the Jewish fraternity trying to buy the house.
“I arrived to see there were swastikas on the house and a message ‘welcome to frat row, Jews,’” said Thomas Holland, president of Zeta Beta Tau. “There were three swastikas: one on the front wall, one on a side wall, and one on a back garage wall.”
He said the message sent chills through his fraternity. They're working on buying the house from the University of Memphis.
“I was a little intimidated at first, but it's quite possible it could be a fraternity prank they didn't realize the seriousness of the situation,” Holland said.
But fraternity members expect campus police to take it seriously.
“It’s a serious thing - it’s not a joke to go around painting swastikas on houses,” said fraternity member Zachary Roberts. “There's a history to that.”
Some students say it's hard to believe something like this would happen in 2009.
“This is fraternity row, everybody should be welcome, we should greet each other with open arms,” said Randall Clark, a senior at the university.
Until police figure out who is responsible, Holland said fraternity members will keep their eyes open.
“Because you never know who is out there and what they really mean when they do things like this,” Holland said.
Despite the graffiti, fraternity members said they still want to move into the house. They have not set a move-in date, so the house is vacant. Holland said the university allowed the fraternity to hold recruitment there three weeks ago.
