A menorah commemorating Hanukkah was stolen last month from Red Square by two freshmen and taken to Harbin Hall before being recovered by Department of Public Safety officers later that evening.

The Dec. 11 theft marks the fourth incident of removal or vandalism of Jewish religious symbols at Georgetown since 1998.

Witnesses said that Patty Carroll (COL ’08) and Sean Bailey (MSB ’08) were intoxicated when they were apprehended with the menorah by DPS officers in the Harbin Hall lobby. They were taken into custody before being released later that night. A third suspect, Neill Bassi (MSB ’08), was also questioned by DPS officers and released.

According to Bassi, Carroll and Bailey were charged initially with harassment, a category B violation of the student code of conduct. Bassi said Tuesday that the university does not consider him a suspect and will not be charging him.

University officials would not comment on the disciplinary proceedings, citing privacy concerns.

“It’s deplorable,” University President John J. DeGioia said concerning the incident during an interview yesterday. “Appropriate steps are being taken to address through the disciplinary system the actions that took place.”

DeGioia also pointed to the Office of Campus Ministry and its inter-faith religious study programs as indications that Georgetown continues to foster a spirit of religious tolerance and open dialogue.

If found responsible for harassment, the students could face sanctions ranging from housing probation to disciplinary suspension.

Darryl Harrison, director of the Department of Public Safety, said the Metropolitan Police Department was notified of the incident but no criminal charges will be filed.

A witness called DPS as the theft was in progress and officers captured it on a Red Square video camera.

The only damage to the menorah was a broken light bulb.

In interviews, Carroll and Bailey admitted playing a part in the theft and called the incident a “prank” gone wrong. Neither student admitted intoxication.

Bailey said that the incident stemmed from his desire to play a prank on a friend.

“We were going to just put the menorah in his room and return it that night,” he said. “It was a poorly selected practical joke and insensitive as well. I didn’t mean any malicious intent towards anyone.”

Carroll expressed her desire to apologize to the university community and said the incident was “nothing hateful towards anyone.”

“I may not have shown it on Friday [Dec. 11], but I have the deepest respect towards the Jewish community here and throughout the world,” she added. “It was a stupid prank that got out of hand and I’m terribly sorry.”

Bassi said he and Carroll had met Bailey in front of Harbin before continuing to Red Square. When they arrived at Red Square he said he received a phone call. When he turned around, the menorah was gone, he said.

According to Bassi, he continued to Healy Gates to meet a friend and was later questioned by DPS officers after being implicated by Carroll and Bailey.

“I was not involved in taking the menorah,” Bassi said, adding that he did not see Bailey or Carroll remove the menorah.

Friends of the students said that they were sure the incident was not meant to be hateful.

“It was just a practical joke, and they thought it would be funny if they took the menorah and put it in a friend’s room as a joke for him,” Scott Kahoe (MSB ’08), one of Bailey’s friends, said.

In a hastily-arranged meeting at the JSA House on Dec. 12, JSA members expressed outrage and called for a full investigation.

Jewish Student Association president Ben Bixby (SFS ’05) called the incident “disrespectful” and said that the university and Jewish community should take immediate steps to keep similar incidents from happening again.

“This is an issue for everyone,” he said. “I want to know how many times we have seen rallies against racism on this campus and how many times we’ve just had to plan another one.”

Julia Stein (COL ’06) said that the main issue was that people had stolen something with religious symbolism.

“No matter what faith you are you just don’t do this to a religious symbol,” she said.

But meeting attendees stopped short of calling the incident anti-Semitic. Many said that more investigation had to be conducted to determine the motivations of the students involved in the incident.

Senior Jewish Chaplain Harold White said that the “university is in denial to the extent of alcohol abuse occurring on this campus.”

In a broadcast e-mail sent to the university community, Todd Olson, vice president for student affairs, and the Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry, called the incident “abhorrent and unacceptable.”

The e-mail invited the community to a ceremony in Red Square Dec. 14 to “rededicate the menorah and rededicate ourselves to honoring fully the diversity that is so integral to our mission and identity.”

At the ceremony, community leaders vowed to prevent similar events from reoccurring.

“We’ve attended too many rallies at Georgetown,” Bixby said. “Too many rallies in response to too many instances of religious disrespect.”

In a brief interview, Olson said that the Georgetown community was “taking this issue very seriously.”

“I’m saddened by what happened but encouraged by the way the community has come together tonight,” he said. “I’m confident this is a community with a desire to make a difference.”

Once the menorah was returned to Red Square, DPS officers guarded it around the clock until the end of Hanukkah.

Bailey and Bassi are on Georgetown’s lacrosse team, and Carroll plays volleyball.

Bill Shapland, senior sports communications director, said he would not comment on pending disciplinary matters but said the athletics department could sanction the students if they are found responsible for the incident.

In Dec. 1998 vandals cut wires leading from a menorah to a power outlet. On Dec. 4, 1999, students smashed a menorah’s light bulbs and bent its pole out of shape. Just seven days later, a student allegedly threw a menorah to the ground. Michael Byrne, an SB sophomore, withdrew from Georgetown following that incident.

– HOYA Staff Writer Vidhya Murugesan contributed to this report.