Racial slurs on Cal Poly student’s door lead to vandalism charge

A Cal Poly construction management student has been charged with a single misdemeanor for allegedly scrawling racial epithets as well as Nazi and Soviet symbols on a fellow student’s apartment door in February.

The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office filed a misdemeanor charge of vandalism resulting in more than $400 of damage against Matthew Ilya Kolesnikov, 20, whose Facebook account says he’s from San Francisco.

On Feb. 24, a student living in the Poly Canyon Village apartments on campus found his apartment door defaced with graffitti and several items smashed at the foot of the door.

The student who was the target of the alleged vandalism declined to comment to The Tribune, but photos circulated on social media reportedly showed his door covered in swastikas, racial epithets for African-Americans and a homophobic slur.

Cal Poly spokesman Matt Lazier said Monday that student privacy laws prohibit him from commenting on the case or saying whether Kolesnikov will be subject to any disciplinary action from the university. Following the incident, the President’s Office released a statement saying a separate student conduct investigation would be initiated through the campus’ judicial affairs office.

The racially charged incident was at least the third incident of alleged hate speech at the university in four months.

Kolesnikov is scheduled to enter a plea at an arraignment March 29 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Racial slurs on Cal Poly student’s door lead to vandalism charge."