Dawn Fallik: Jewish professor finds note with swastika saying 'we are everywhere' pinned to her office door
NEWARK, DELAWARE: A Jewish professor at the University of Delaware has alleged that she received a "threatening message" with a swastika drawn on the back of a poster for a drag show she set up. Dawn Fallik, a Journalism Professor, said the message "We are everywhere" was written on the back of the flyer for a 'Martha Graham Cracker' performance. It was Fallik who had organized the event at the university in 2016. She found the note plastered to her door.
Fallik said she believes she was the target of the note, Delaware Online reports. A suspect(s) and a motive have still not been discovered. Her office is reportedly located in Memorial Hall, and the professor had just completed a unit on "how the media covers race and marginalized communities." She also mentioned her own religion.
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Fallik said there were other Jewish professors in the hallway where her office is located, but they "didn't receive any hateful messages." She also said she has "no reason to suspect any of her students" although she mentioned her own faith during a lecture. She said the corridor is empty "95 per cent of the time" and has no security cameras. Fallik also said anyone could have been "listening in" to her classes, being held virtually.
Following the incident, fliers were put up by faculty in the school's English department, to welcome all students. "All faiths, sexualities, genders, modes of self-expression, races, abilities are welcome here," a poster reads.
Who is Dawn Fallik?
Dawn Fallik is "an award-winning reporter specializing in database analysis, feature writing, and medical coverage," according to her website. Her bio reads, "She has 20 years of daily reporting experience for The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press, and the St Louis Post-Dispatch. She spent a month in India covering the tsunami, investigated medical errors, and went to the prom at age 26. This year she was nominated and served on the 2022 Pulitzer Prize jury."
Fallik, according to the website, left full-time reporting for full-time teaching. However, she continues to cover medical issues for various publications. "She spent six years writing for The Wall Street Journal’s medical desk, and live blogged two Olympics and multiple television shows for the WSJ’s culture site SpeakEasy. She’s interviewed Tim Gunn, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, and Judy Blume," the website says, adding, "From 2012-2015 she served on the Board of Directors for the DART Society, which works with journalists who cover trauma and violence."
Fallik started as a full-time assistant professor at The University of Delaware in September 2007. "She took over as journalism director in 2009 and eventually grew the minor to 250 students," says the website.
'You just have to keep teaching'
After the incident, Fallik said she prefers not to focus on one person or party's "hateful" actions. "College is where you come to meet people who are not like you and change those ideas," she said. "But I guess you just have to keep teaching because, for every person who wants to hate, I have taught thousands of students who have learned to see the world in a different way and be curious about different people."
University of Delaware's President said he is "appalled and deeply disturbed" by the threat. "On behalf of the entire University, we unequivocally denounce this incident, which is in direct opposition to our institutional values supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion," President Dennis Assanis wrote. He added, "At UD, people of all faiths, ethnicities, races, genders, and sexualities are welcome, and every member of our community must be free to teach, work, learn, and live on our campus while having all aspects of their identity respected."