The University of Utah office tasked with promoting campus diversity on Friday condemned two racist flyers that were posted and pledged to continue working for social justice.
The flyers were found at the Student Life Center; one taped on the wall of the center and another taped crudely over an advertisement near the building.
“We are outraged, we are saddened, by these overt expressions of hate,” stated a release from The Office of Equity and Diversity posted to Facebook on Friday.
University officials learned about the posters on social media last week, according to Annalisa Purser, a university spokeswoman. When officials went to remove the posters, they were gone, she said.
Apparently these fliers were on MY campus. @UUtah what the hell are these? pic.twitter.com/PVd9VHjAWn
— Joshua Soutas (@SoutasJosh) August 10, 2017
Text on the poster said “Stop the blacks” and listed unverified crime statistics. A link to a website directs to a manifesto written by a white nationalist group called Vanguard America. Vanguard Utah confirmed that the posters found at the U. are associated with it.
The university provides counseling for students who feel threatened by such messages, Purser said. The Office for Equity and Diversity ”is always keeping up to date on these types of issues,” she added, saying that students may report racist messages to the office’s staff.
The university also released a statement to news media on Thursday evening that listed support services such as the Office for Inclusive Excellence and the counseling center.
“Although we encourage freedom of speech and critical conversations, the university does not tolerate hateful speech or discrimination against any part of our campus community,” Purser wrote in the statement.
University police documented the posters, but they did not respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
“I don‘t think there’s enough information about this incident to really follow up on these posters, specifically,” Purser said.