University Removes Posters Put Up On Campus By Hate Group

Sean Newhouse 
News Editor

In an email sent on March 19, President Eric Spina told the UD community that the university “removed posters from poles and other areas around campus” that promoted a neo-Nazi white supremacist hate group on both March 18 and 19. This incident is reflective of a trend of hate groups targeting college campuses nationally and in the Dayton area.

According to the email, UD police are investigating, but there “is no indication that anyone in our campus community is responsible for posting these signs….”

“The University of Dayton is fiercely opposed to the racial hatred and religious bigotry advocated by such groups,” Spina said. “Hate and bigotry have no place in our community, our campus, or our hearts.”

One poster that was taken down advertised Patriot Front, a Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)-designated white nationalist hate group. It read “Reclaim America.” According to the SPLC’s website, about 30 Patriot Front members assembled for a rally at the University of Texas at Austin in November 2017.

In the email, Spina instructed students who may come across hate group posters to not remove or deface them. Rather, students should contact Public Safety immediately.

Wright State University experienced a similar issue earlier this year. Those posters advertised Identity Evropa, another SPLC-designated white nationalist hate group.

Photo courtesy of Bailey Johnson. Johnson reported the poster to campus police.