Update (11:21 p.m.): Two more incidents of graffiti were found on fraternity houses Tuesday morning.
The words “kill frat boys” appeared on a stone column of the fence surrounding the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house. The message “nuke the frats” above a white symbol was also left on a side door outside the Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) house.
“The Forty Acres should never be a place for hateful rhetoric against any group,” the Texas Interfraternity Council said in a statement. “In light of the recent vandalism of several fraternity houses, Texas IFC emphasizes that we strive to promote a safe, enriching and inclusive environment for all members of the UT campus community.”
Texas IFC said in recent years it has worked to raise awareness for and address sexual assault by partnering with organizations such as Not ON My Campus and Voices Against Violence.
“There are strides still to be made to create a completely inclusive IFC community,” Texas IFC said in a statement. “We will continue to partner with student organizations and the University to do this work.”
Original post: The words “racist” and “rapist” were found spray-painted on stone columns surrounding the Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity house Monday morning.
The words were written vertically in black graffiti on multiple stone columns of the fence surrounding the Fiji house, located on the northeast corner of Guadalupe and West 27th Street.
Fiji chapter president Pierce Durham said the fraternity thinks the act of vandalism was committed around midnight Sunday. According to KXAN, a man was seen power washing the graffiti off the stone Monday afternoon.
“We have filed a police report and have no idea who did it or why it was done,” said Durham, a finance junior, in an email statement. “Texas Fiji is vandalized from time to time, and we are working with police to get to the bottom of this incident.”
Danny McNamara, president of UT’s Interfraternity Council and member of Texas Fiji, said he is not sure what started the vandalism or why it occurred.
“One time is too common,” said McNamara, a finance junior. “It’s definitely more common than it should be.”
McNamara said the IFC council plans to meet as a board, and the IFC judicial branch will decide how to adequately respond.
“Usually someone like this is a faceless person, so there’s really not much you can do,” McNamara said. “There’s no real way to catch whoever vandalized it so there’s really not a lot that you can do, but we’re definitely going to talk about it and see what preventive measures we can do.”
Soncia Reagins-Lilly, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said incidents of this kind will not be tolerated on the UT campus.
“We are in contact with the students in this organization to gather information and provide support,” Reagins-Lilly said in a statement. “No defamatory graffiti or vandalism — whether targeting individuals or organizations — has any place in our campus community.”
Students who have any information about the incident should contact the Office of the Dean of Students, Reagins-Lilly said.