Police Investigate Law School Vandalism as Hate Crime

As racial tensions flare on college campuses across the country, Harvard Police continue to probe vandalism at Harvard Law School that was discovered last week, investigating the incident as a hate crime.

Law School students and professors arrived in Wasserstein Hall last Thursday to find pieces of black tape placed over the portraits of black professors at the school. Police launched an investigation, and Law School students, faculty, and administrators were quick to denounce the act as hateful.

Steven G. Catalano, a Harvard University Police Department spokesperson, wrote in an email that the investigation is “active and ongoing.”

Several students have said that the incident is indicative of what they describe as a sometimes hostile and racist environment at Harvard Law School. In a community meeting on Thursday about the vandalism, Law School Dean Martha L. Minow called racism a “serious problem” at the school.

—Staff writer Andrew M. Duehren can be reached at andy.duehren@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @aduehren.