Police investigate attacks on Muslim students at colleges

Officials at universities in Louisiana and California said police were investigating attacks on Wednesday against female Muslim students, and officials described one of the episodes as a “hate crime.”

The attacks, coming a day after the nation voted to elect Donald Trump, underscored the criticism he had faced throughout his presidential campaign from opponents who said his harsh antiMuslim language was emboldening extremists.

A Muslim student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette told police Wednesday morning she was walking when a car pulled up to her, and two white men stepped out and attacked her, according to an email sent by the university to students, faculty and staff.

The men, one of whom was wearing a white hat emblazoned with “Trump,” hit her with a metal object, dropping her to the ground, she said. While she was down, the student said, they stole her head covering and wallet.

University officials did not comment on the attack but confirmed the details of the email, which was sent just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, and that police were investigating. The victim was not identified.

The Lafayette Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In California, the San Diego State University police said they were investigating a similar attack, which they described as a hate crime.

A student who was wearing traditional garments and a hijab reported that while she was walking to her car, two men — one white and one Hispanic — confronted her and made comments about Trump and Muslims, according to a police summary.

The student reported the men grabbed her purse and backpack and took her car keys before fleeing. She was not injured. The unidentified victim alerted police and led them back to the scene, discovering that her car was gone.

In a joint statement, the university president, Elliot Hirshman; the vice president for student affairs, Eric Rivera; and the interim police chief, Josh Mays, said: “We condemn this hateful act, and urge all members of our community to join us in condemning such hateful acts.

“Hate crimes are destructive to the spirit of our campus, and we urge all members of our community to stand together in rejecting hate.”

After the election, universities also reported campus graffiti referring to Trump and some of the themes he has espoused.

New York University’s Muslim Students Association said on its Facebook page students at the Tandon School of Engineering awoke on Wednesday to find “Trump” scrawled on the door of their prayer room, adding they are “realizing that our campus is not immune to the bigotry that grips America.”