Police in Syracuse, New York, announced an arrest related to new graffiti found at Syracuse University on Wednesday, but said the markings were not connected to the latest string of racist and bias-related incidents that schools officials are investigating.
The female student was arrested for criminal mischief in the fourth degree and making graffiti, both misdemeanors, and then released.
"Based on statements made, it appears the graffiti was intended to be in support of the campus protests," police said in a news release Thursday.
On Wednesday night, dozens of students walked out of a forum attended by the private school's chancellor, Kent Syverud, in the wake of the incidents that have roiled the campus over the past couple of weeks. The students demanded Syverud endorse all of their requests for how to handle the crisis on campus or resign.
There have been at least 16 racist and bias-related episodes since Nov. 6, prompting protests and a student sit-in at one of the campus buildings. The racist and anti-Semetic events have included a swastika drawn in a snowbank near an apartment complex where students live and the alleged sharing of a white supremacist manifesto on Monday at a school library.
The school's Department of Public Safety also said Thursday it is investigating four new incidents, two of which occurred at a residence hall where graffiti was found featuring derogatory language toward African Americans, a third that happened at a residence hall and involved "anti-Native American language," and a fourth that took place at an art facility and included graffiti that used a racist slur toward Asians.
