This Thursday, we received an anonymous tip alerting us to an act of vandalism committed by GSAS student and Introduction to Experimental Physics lab TA Andrey Vlasov. This tip included a screenshot of an email sent by Vlasov to his lab class. In the email, Vlasov stated that he tore down a rainbow sticker reading, “All are welcome” in Pupin Hall, and replaced it with a paper reading, “Remember Sodom and Gomorrah”. ‘Sodom and Gomorrah‘ refers to two Biblical cities that were destroyed by an act of God as punishment for acts of sodomy.

Vlasov is under investigation for this incident, and is forbidden from entering Pupin until his hearing on Tuesday. We reached out to the Physics department for comment, and a spokesperson informed us that relevant offices at Columbia have been alerted, and that Vlasov’s TA duties have been re-assigned to alternate instructors for the time being.

“The Physics Department takes this situation and the well-being of our students very seriously,” the spokesperson wrote.

We will update this post with further developments as they occur. You can see the screenshot of Vlasov’s email below.

Vlasov’s email to his physics lab students