UCLA removes posters advocating for white supremacy, xenophobia
Some posters with positive messages were defaced with graffiti hostile to undocumented students and other groups (Sam Hoff/Daily Bruin senior staff)
UCLA removed posters promoting white supremacy and xenophobic attitudes on campus earlier this week.
The posters promoted the “UCLA White Students Group,” and said the government has embraced the replacement of whites and appeasement of the demands of minority groups.
Tod Tamberg, UCLA spokesperson, said in an email the university removed the posters because the group who posted them are not UCLA affiliated, which violates UCLA’s content-neutral posting regulations prohibiting unaffiliated groups from posting signs without approval from the UCLA Events Office.
He added the university takes physical safety seriously and requests anyone who experiences threat or harassment make a report to the Dean of Students Office, the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion or university police.
“As Chancellor (Gene) Block and President (Janet) Napolitano affirmed in their statement last week, UCLA and the (University of California) are proud of our diversity and remain committed to supporting all members of our community and adhering to UC’s Principles Against Intolerance,” the email said.
Some posters with positive messages were also vandalized. Several with “This land is your land, this land is my land…” written on them were defaced with, “Illegals go home now.”
Some students said in addition to the posters, they have noticed tension on campus.
Peter Back, a fourth-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, said he thinks campus climate has changed since the election.
“It’s like we are in our own little democratic bubble, so it seems like things will likely go back to normal,” Back said. “It could also go the other way if people feed into the hate speech and (this leads) to more acts of hate toward minority groups, which would create a divide.”
Sally Lee, a third-year applied mathematics student, said she had not seen the posters, but noticed other forms of strain on campus.
“I’ve heard of changes in campus climate through anecdotal evidence from my friends, like people telling them to go back to where they came from,” Lee said.
Some professors said they thought it was important to address student concerns about the posters.
Mitchum Huehls, an assistant adjunct English professor, briefly discussed the presence of the “UCLA White Students Group” posters during his Monday lecture.
“My job as a professor is to share information that is important or relevant to our lives,” Huehls said. “It seemed like an important thing to happen on our campus.”
Contributing reports from Isabella Welch, Daily Bruin contributor.
