White Supremacist Fliers Surface at CU After Student Council Rejects Proposal to Fight Affirmative Action - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Jan 18, 2001

BOULDER, COLO.

Fliers with racially charged statements appeared at the University of Colorado shortly after the student council rejected a proposal to fight affirmative action.

Faculty and staff members reported recently that up to 50 fliers and stickers signed by the White supremacist group National Alliance were seen in at least four campus buildings, campus police Lt. Tun McGraw says.

"There's one with a picture of a child that says `Missing,' and goes on to say how this White child is missing opportunities," McGraw says. "Then there's another that has statistics on African Americans in prison and contends they are disproportionately responsible for crime."

Members of a student group called the Equal Opportunity Alliance recently tried to push a proposal to fight affirmative action, saying the policy is not the way to achieve diversity on campus.

But Jessica Peck, a White student and leader of the group, says the fliers were unrelated to her group.

"We've had some concern about extremists identifying with our group, but we in no way support any racism or any message that doesn't further equality," Peck says. "Their (the White supremacists') message is just disgusting ..."

McGraw says police believe the fliers are part of a recruitment campaign. The fliers do not appear to target individuals and are protected by the First Amendment, he says.

CU administrators asked faculty and staff who came across the posters to throw them away.

The Web page of the National Alliance, based in Hillsboro, W. Va., describes multiculturalism as a "sickness" and says the group's mission is to "have a racially clean area of the earth for the further development of our people."