White Nationalist Flyers Found At Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE, TN — Flyers encouraging "men of the west" to "embrace white identity" were posted on the campus of Vanderbilt University October 16 and then removed by university officials because they violated school policy, the administration wrote in an email to students Wednesday.

The flyers are connected to American Renaissance, a white nationalist publication designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. According to the email, written by Melissa Thomas-Hunt, vice-provost of inclusive excellence, and Mark Bandas, dean of students, American Renaissance "asserts that whites are superior to other races in a range of behavioral domains."

A photograph of the flyer was posted by the Vanderbilt Hustler, the school's student newspaper. It features an illustration of Thomas Jefferson vaguely in the mode of the Shepard Fairey Barack Obama "Hope" Poster, pointing his finger a la Uncle Sam. The text reads "Men of the west, don't give into hate. Love your people. Love your culture. Love your heritage. Embrace white identity today!"

The flyers were removed under the auspices of Vanderbilt's advertising policy which prohibits the posting of flyers unconnected to campus events.

Watch: White Nationalist Flyers Found At Vanderbilt

"The values espoused and held by American Renaissance are inconsistent with those of Vanderbilt University. The promotion of white supremacy sharply conflicts with our core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion and we condemn it. As an institution of learning, Vanderbilt recognizes the importance of free speech and invites civil debate and dialogue," Thomas-Hunt and Bandas wrote in the email.

An editor of American Renaissance, coincidentally, is Vanderbilt alumnus Devin Saucier, who writes under the name Henry Wolff. A self-described white nationalist, Saucier founded a now-defunct chapter of the self-described "civic nationalist" Youth for Western Civilization at Vanderbilt in 2008. During YWC's time on campus, they invited speakers including Richard Spencer, president of the National Policy Institute, a white nationalist think tank. Milo Yiannopoulos, another favorite writer among the alt-right, once described Saucier as "his best friend."

The flyers have been roundly condemned by students and campus groups, according to the Hustler, by organizations like the Multicultural Leadership Council, which discovered the flyers in a campus area that's a frequent hang out for Muslim students, and by Matt Colleran, one of Vanderbilt's most prominent conservative students.

Image via JBaker08, released into the public domain