UPDATED 6:35 p.m.

The University Police at Sacramento State are investigating racial writings directed toward President Alexander Gonzalez.

The graffiti was reported two weeks ago in the men’s bathroom wall on the third floor of Sequoia Hall, said Lt. Dan Davis, of the University Police.

The racial writings included derogatory teams toward Hispanics like “beaner” and phrases like, “back across the border.”

Gonzalez said this type of behavior likely stems from the tension that has built among the faculty, president and students. This year has seen demonstrations against Gonzalez’s pay raise in January, to plenty of dissatisfaction from some faculty who felt that Gonzalez was not an integral voice as faculty underwent negotiation for a new contract.

“This is just an outgrowth of everything that’s been out there,” Gonzalez said.

This was the third incident of racial writings toward the president that was reported this semester, Davis said. He said this is the first semester that he is aware of racial writings direct toward the campus president.

The first sights of the racial writings were reported in mid-March and then in mid-April. It is unclear whether all the writings were aimed at Gonzalez.

California Faculty Association Chapter President and Criminal Justice Professor Cecil Canton questions why the reports were made as public as they are when he said there was other incidents of racial writing reported that were not directed toward the president during the end of March.

Canton said that racial writings must be condemned and he sees the surfacing of the reports as nothing more than a “political diversion.”

“I don’t think the president is any more special and should be protected more than any other individual in this community,” he said.

Faculty Senate President Michael Fitzgerald said that he’s afraid giving attention to these actions because they can lead to repeat offenses.

He is not sure, however, if Gonzalez would use this to his advantage. “If the president knew about this before the vote on no confidence, I think if he wanted it to be a political diversion he would of brought it to attention before the election not after,” Fitzgerald said.

Davis said the police have some promising leads. He said the department is assuming the person who wrote it was a male.

He also said the campus police have increased foot patrol in the Sequoia building area and have been on alert for any suspicious individuals, especially at odd hours of the day when the building is closed.

ASI President Jesus Andrade said he was angry when he heard what happened and is calling for unity of the campus and community through open dialogue.

“The climate this semester has finally boiled down to true, racial hate. It’s really, really bad,” he said.

Andrade said he wants to hold an open forum for discussion about racism.

“We have a lot of potential here at Sac State. We need to get speakers that could speak the truth and unite the campus,” he said.

In a written statement, California State University Chancellor Charles Reed said this type of graffiti is intolerable.

“There is no place for such virulent language, particularly within universities where civil discourse should be at the core of academic learning,” Reed said.

Gonzalez said this is a time for the campus to reflect.

“I think it’s time for us to re-examine what it is we do and in the process hopefully heal some of these wounds that opened up,” he said.