Dog feces found on Gettysburg College YAF display

Student leader says chapter sign was also stolen from 9/11 memorial

A group of conservative students at Gettysburg College says there remains no answer after an exhibit commemorating the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was vandalized earlier this month.

Tyler Seeman, president of the private college’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter, said The college solution he learned the investigation into the incident was closed when he read it in the student newspaper last week.

In a phone interview Thursday, Seeman said a sign was stolen from their “9/11 Never Forget Project” display less than 24 hours after it was put up Sept. 10 in the Stine Lake campus area.

In another incident on the same day, he said other members of the section found a bag containing what appeared to be dog feces thrown on the screen.

“We don’t know if the same person did both,” Seeman said. The Fixadding that administrators told him there were “no cameras monitoring the area,” making it difficult to identify suspects.

“Theft and vandalism have no place in colleges and universities, and the circumstances are not helped by the fact that this crime was targeted against a 9/11 exhibit dedicated to the victims of the terrorist attack on deadliest in American history,” he said by email. .

Seeman said The Fix via telephone, administrators discussed the incidents with YAF student leaders and reported the matter to campus security.

However, Seeman said he was never contacted about the investigation. On Wednesday, he said a crime was recorded The Gettysburgian reported it as “Closed (no known suspects or witnesses). »

The campus security office ordered The Fix to the college communications office when contacted about this matter.

“The incident was reported to campus security. Unfortunately, although we have a photo of the bag of dog feces, no eyewitnesses or new information has come to light to allow us to fully investigate what happened,” the spokesperson said. Jamie Yates. The Fix by email on Friday.

“If more information becomes available, we will certainly revisit the investigation. Of course, if this was done intentionally, it is deeply disrespectful and inconsistent with the values and expectations of our community,” Yates said.

In an email shared with The Fix Per Seeman, Director of Student Activities Jonathan Allen also provided a statement in response to the incidents.

“YAF leadership in Gettysburg informed us that someone placed a bag of dog feces in their 9/11 memorial display,” Allen wrote in the Sept. 18 statement.

“If intentional, and we look at the circumstances, this act is profoundly disrespectful to the memory of those lost, undermines the importance of this solemn remembrance and goes against the values of our community,” Allen said.

Seeman expressed disappointment that the statement did not mention the theft of their sign.

MORE: Consult the Campus Cancel Culture database

He said he also hopes that university leaders will “soon remind the university community of free speech protections and practices.”

At the same time, Seeman expressed satisfaction that campus administrators have protected the free speech of conservative students in the past. He recalled an event where leaders defended their right to post messages on the sidewalk.

Despite the issues with their recent exposure, Seeman said the chapter “was able to reach and engage students in this event who otherwise would not attend our meetings and initiatives.”

However, he said it was “unfortunate that this is their first impression of what happens to properly registered, reserved and sanctioned public exhibitions on the Gettysburg College campus.”

“The left here is very outspoken and vile things come out,” he said. The Fix.

MORE: Black conservative YAF event canceled after academic hurdles

IMAGE: Tyler Seeman

As The college solution on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter