Four other universities report offensive posters targeting SJP
By Sam Hoff
Feb. 24, 2015 1:21 a.m.
Offensive posters about Students for Justice in Palestine that students found in Westwood on Sunday were also reported this weekend at at least four other universities across the nation.
Students found several posters at UCLA and North Village Sunday morning depicting militants with assault rifles standing over a masked man. The posters named the group Students for Justice in Palestine with “#JewHaters” written below it. Students and facilities workers removed the posters by afternoon.
Since Sunday, students at UC Irvine, DePaul University, Drake University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst reported finding similar posters on their campuses.
Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA has sponsored two controversial resolutions in the past two years urging the undergraduate student government to encourage the University of California to divest from companies that some say profit from human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Divestment resolutions similar to those at UCLA have passed at UC Irvine, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and DePaul University.
University police did not respond Monday to calls for comment, but in an email statement, UCLA spokesman Ricardo Vazquez said police are investigating the posters at UCLA as vandalism.
In the statement, Vazquez said the university hopes that the campus can serve as a place where people can debate with civility and respect.
“While the university cherishes free speech, the posters recently discovered on and off campus stigmatize and stereotype a particular group, and we repudiate them in the strongest possible terms,” he said in the statement. “We believe our campus is more inclusive and thoughtful than this incident would suggest.”
In a Sunday press release, Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA said the organization opposes racism and bigotry, and that members see the signs as a form of hate speech.
“We do not believe such actions reflect the opinions or values of any community on our campus,” the statement said. “However, we must point out that these posters are only the most recent manifestation of a larger, egregious pattern of anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry that has gone unchecked throughout the UC system.”
Students for Justice in Palestine chapters at UC Irvine, DePaul University, Drake University and University of Massachusetts Amherst did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Compiled by Sam Hoff, Bruin senior staff. Contributing reports by Janie Brunson, Bruin contributor.
