Several fliers depicting a Jewish man confronting a swastika were taken down from University bulletin boards yesterday after police received complaints about the unauthorized posters, University Police Services said.

Fifteen sets of photocopied photographs were hung on bulletin boards in the HUB, Sparks Building, the Forum and other buildings on campus. Police said the fliers, a series of 10 photos, were taken down because they were not authorized by the organizations in charge of the bulletin boards.

A crew of janitors usually is responsible for removing unauthorized posters at night, but since several complaints were received, police removed them during the day, said University Police Services Supervisor Clifford Lutz.

Lutz said the fliers were removed because they were not authorized, not because of their content.

In an attempt to reach beyond the limited audience at the Visual Arts Building, Christopher Zweig (sophomore-visual arts) said he hung the pictures on boards around campus to provoke students' thought.

The pictures, photocopies of his exhibit on display at the Visual Arts Building, attempt to depict "an individual trying to reason his identity within the context of being defined within a group," Zweig said.

The photos shows a Jewish man looking at and analyzing the meaning of a symbol, the swastika. The swastika is the official emblem of the Nazi regime responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews in World War II.

Outside the context of the gallery, Zweig said, the photos would make a social statement.

"Basically, I wanted people to think," he said. "I really did know that some people would get upset but I think they should think before they react."

"It was reacted to in a very one-sided manner," he said, commenting on the promptness with which the fliers were removed. "It's a very charged atmosphere we have here and people are very worried."