White supremacist-linked posters on UMass campus raise concern

BOSTON -- UMass Boston officials are telling students to be on alert after a group they say is connected to white supremacy posted fliers on campus, reports CBS Boston.

Winston E. Langley, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, emailed students and staff Wednesday with details about the posters.

“Intimidation of any member of our community is intimidation of all members. We stand in solidarity. If anyone sees or experiences harassment, please contact the campus police; students are encouraged to contact the Division of Student Affairs,” Langley said.

“Be careful and, if you need to talk to somebody, you know we are all here for you,” said UMass Boston graduate student Bailey Zukovich.

The posters were taken down Tuesday, but were up long enough to offend students.

“It has a picture of a Roman or a Greek statue. So it’s not like there is a swastika so you have to look at what they are saying,” UMass Boston graduate student Jenean McGee.

“We’re a public institution people should feel safe on our campus and not feel like they are getting hate speech,” McGee said.

“I just pulled it down and brought it to our graduate class; I wanted everyone to see what it looked like,” said UMass Boston grad student Cheyanne Garcia.

“Obviously, I was very offended I don’t want that thing happening at UMass at all. I want it to be a place where everyone can come,” said Garcia.

The group “Identity Evropa” is taking responsibility for putting the posters up on the Dorchester campus and other schools around the state and country.

They say things like “Let’s Become Great Again” or “Protect Your Heritage.”

The group says it doesn’t think the posters contain hate speech.

“The goal behind the campaign is to raise awareness of our organization and issues. Many White people are tired of anti-White rhetoric, Leftist violence, Black Lives Matter, multiculturalism, etc.,” said Reinhard Wolff, Director of Administration, Identity Evropa.

Identity Evropa says it not concerned about the posters’ removal and it plans to post more on campus.