Hate graffiti found around campus Monday has been condemned by university administrators, students and professors as a “cowardly act,” not representative of the ISU community.

Approximately 10 incidents had been discovered as of Tuesday. The graffiti, which included anti-gay slurs and at least one swastika and an anarchist symbol, stretched across campus in a path from Hamilton Hall to Sweeney Hall.

“There is absolutely no place for that type of behavior in this type of environment. Matter of fact, there is no place for it in society as a whole,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Hill. “We will do everything we can to identify who is responsible for it.”

Warren Blumenfeld, assistant professor for curriculum and instruction, said the graffiti could be a backlash against recent gains made by members of the women’s community and the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community on issues such as gay marriage and hate crime laws.

He said the graffiti could also be an incident of an individual or group projecting their own insecurities and biases with sexual or gender issues.

“In the past, sometimes graffiti like this is a cry for help by the perpetrators of these crimes,” Blumenfeld said.

Hill said he believed the graffiti was an isolated incident without community support.

“To really make the point, it happened at a time when very few people were around,” he said. “That is typically when cowardly acts are performed, and that is how I would describe it, as a cowardly act.”

Bob Currie, assistant director for faculty services for facilities planning and management, said about $700 had been spent as of Tuesday afternoon on clean-up. He said total costs could range from $1,000 to $1,500.

ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger said the perpetrator or perpetrators could face felony criminal mischief charges. Second degree criminal mischief, a class D felony, can be charged if the damage ranges between $1,000 and $10,000.

A class D felony is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $7,500, according to the Iowa Code.

Deisinger said it is too early to speculate on the chances of an arrest being made.

“We will do our best to identify the person or persons responsible,” he said.

Andrew Alt, program assistant for the Dean of Students Office, said the graffiti could violate sections of the student conduct code related to property damage and sexual harassment.

Deisinger said the graffiti occurred late Sunday night.

Currie said it should take no more than two days for staff to use a water-based solvent and scrub-brushes to remove the graffiti.

“Graffiti does happen now and then on campus, this is not the first time Iowa State has had graffiti,” Currie said. “This is the most at one time specifically on sidewalks.”

Deisinger said there have been incidents in the past, including spray paint on walls a few years ago.

“Approximately a year ago, we did receive a report of some graffiti that had some similarities. I do not want to suggest it was the same,” he said.

Specific incidents of the graffiti included the phrase “save ISU, kill fags,” spray painted on a sidewalk across Central Campus and an arrow on a sidewalk outside Hamilton Hall pointing to the location of the Daily, accompanied by the phrase “ISU fag rag.” A similar arrow was located outside the Sloss House next to the words “dyke bar.”

“We don’t serve alcohol, so it really doesn’t make sense,” said April Walker, senior in English and a volunteer at the house.

“I’m appalled and disgusted, to be honest,” she said.

A tag calling ISU gay and bisexual fraternity Delta Lambda Phi a “fag house” was spray-painted outside the Farmhouse Museum.

The reference to Delta Lambda Phi made it feel like the perpetrator was familiar with campus, said Ellen Semran, events coordinator for the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center and former LGBT student services director.