Paolo Zialcita/Nevada Sagebrush
A swastika painted over graffiti in the Church of Fine Arts Building on Friday, Oct. 13. Multiple swastikas were found painted in the staircase.

On the morning of Friday, Oct. 13, multiple swastikas were found spray painted in the well-known graffiti staircase inside the Church Fine Arts building. The perpetrator or perpetrators are unknown at this time.

UNR police have asked that anyone with information related to this incident please contact them at (775) 334-2677.

There was also a message above one of the swastikas in the same color paint that reads, “Is this political enough?” Though, as of Friday afternoon, it remained unclear if the message was related to the swastikas.

The staircase is often used by art students to create art on the walls using spray paint.

When asked, one of the art department chairs, Rebekah Bogard, declined to comment. 

“The stairwell is a space intended as a celebration of artistic expression,” said President Marc Johnson in a statement.

Dean Debra Moddelmog of the College of Liberal Arts invited graffiti artists, students and faculty to repaint and restore the graffiti stairwell Sunday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m.

“Taking back the stairwell demonstrates our commitment to love over hate, peace over violence and community over intimidation,” Moddelmog said in a statement released by the university.

Associated Students of the University of Nevada President Noah Teixeira took to Twitter to denounce the graffitti.

“As a student, I stand against the individual(s) & their act of hate and vandalism in the Churchill [sic] Fine Arts stairwell with Swastikas,” Teixeira said. “As a student body we need to stand together & SHOW students that are most affected by this that we are NOT going to continue this behavior.”

Diversity has been a hot topic on campus ever since a UNR student was photographed at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August.

This is a developing story. Check back with the Nevada Sagebrush for more updates.

Madeline Purdue and Joey Lovato can be reached at mpurdue@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush.