Cowards, come forward
I haven't been following these events very closely... So, has any of the vandalism/hate speech occurred within the residential colleges? Or within any area to which only Yalies/employees have access? It has been my impression that the vandalism has occurred in public access areas. If the latter is the case, I would be more inclined to believe with poster #1 that the vandals involved were not part of the Yale community.
no matter who the vandals are, courage of this type is a worthy value. the participants in public dialogue should not be anonymous.
sometimes anonymity is required, but that's usually in situations with overly oppressive police, totalitarian systems, etc.
also, yale is overly image-conscious, both in terms of the administration and the students. but that's tangential.
Just for the information of #1 and #2, a swastika was drawn in the snow on old campus at night (when the gates are locked to non-Yalies) and, if we're including the "We Love Yale Sluts" sign in the discussion of hate speech - that was held up by Yalies in Zeta Psi, in front of the Yale Women's Center, intimidating a girl who worked there from entering. The rest of the graffiti was on drawn on the outside of Yale buildings.
Recent vandalism has been disgusting, there is no question. The vandal has also shown just how easy it is to send the Yale community into frenzied turmoil, and I imagine that provides the vandal with a sense of power as he sits back and laughs at the mayhem and forced "dialogue" on campus. The perp may be focused on arousing ire and frustration, rather than advancing some extreme agenda. All this makes me think "misguided local prankster" or "disgruntled former employee." But maybe it's just my narcissism wanting to believe these weren't the acts of a Yalie.