Twitter user @SoutasJosh
This flyer from Vanguard America was posted in multiple places on the University of Utah campus. James Fields, accused of driving into a crowd of people, marched wearing Vanguard America apparel on August 12. The group denies Fields's membership and says shirts were handed out to all those in attendance.
Racist posters were found taped around the University of Utah last week. The flyers were reportedly found in and around the George S. Eccles Student Life Center, as well as outside the J. Willard Marriott Library.
In a statement released Thursday, the U said by the time they found out about the posters they had already been removed.
The posters said, “Stop the rapes, stop the crime, stop the murders, stop the Blacks.” They also included unsubstantiated statistics about crime rates among African-Americans. The posters were downloaded from a website associated with the white nationalist group Vanguard America, classified by The Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group.
“Although we encourage freedom of speech and critical conversations, the university does not tolerate hateful speech or discrimination against a part of our campus community,” the U said in a statement addressing the incident. “We reaffirm our commitment to fostering an environment where students, faculty and staff can exchange ideas respectfully.”
The U’s Office for Equity and Diversity took to Facebook to condemn the posters.
“We are outraged, we are saddened, by these overt expressions of hate,” the office wrote in the post.
Campus police documented the posters in a report, but weren’t available to comment. The Office of the Dean of Students, which handles discipline matters, wasn’t immediately available to comment on what repercussions, if any, a student who posted hateful flyers would face.
The U included resources for counseling and support services in their statement. Students can contact the counseling center at 801-581-6826, or the Office for Equity and Diversity at 801-581-7569.
“We can only pledge in the wake of such actions that we will continue with all passion, speed, and commitment to advance our work for social justice,” the Office for Equity and Diversity said. “We will not be deterred from bringing our collective energy to bear on creating access and offering support for underrepresented faculty, staff, and students at the U.”
e.anderson@dailyutahchronicle.com