Cannon Dial Eating Club, shown in 2010, where the cannon was vandalized with anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian graffiti in December 2023.
Denise Applewhite
The cannon on the lawn in front of Cannon Dial Elm Club was among three locations vandalized
Princeton University public safety has increased patrols on campus after inflammatory anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian graffiti was painted at three spots over the past week, according to a Department of Public Safety (DPS) log and The Daily Princetonian. No suspect has been detained.
The cannon on the lawn in front of Cannon Dial Elm Club was painted with “Free Gaza” and “[F—] Israel,” and “Free Gaza” was also painted on the brick wall in front of Cottage Club, according to the Prince. A Dec. 24 Princeton University DPS police log also shows “criminal mischief w[ith] damage” occurred sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at 86 Olden Street, home to the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment.
As of noon on Dec. 29, the graffiti had been removed and a police car was parked on Prospect Avenue between the two eating clubs.
“The Department of Public Safety is working with local police to investigate the incident and has increased patrols in the area,” University Spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss wrote in an email to PAW.
Princeton police Lt. Thomas Lagomarsino told the Prince the graffiti may be a possible “bias incident.” Lagomarsino and Cpt. Christopher Tash, a public information officer, were not in the office on Dec. 29, a police operator told PAW.
Josh Coan ’24, president of Cannon Club, said no one was in the building when the incident occurred, and that after contacting President Christopher Eisgruber ’83, he was offered support “including connections to several other administrators,” according to the Prince.
“We appreciate the University’s immediate response,” Coan wrote in an email to the outlet. In an email to PAW, Coan said he had nothing to add.
The incidents raise the temperature on campus, which has been on edge in the wake of continued pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian events, though, despite some calls of “intifada,” hasn’t yet boiled over.
According to an Instagram post by Princeton 4 Palestine, a silent processional to honor victims in Gaza caught in the ongoing war is planned for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 30 at Palmer Square.