» RELATED: Klan rally permit approved by Montgomery County: 'We are legally obligated'
“The University of Dayton is fiercely opposed to the racial hatred and religious bigotry advocated by such groups,” Spina wrote. “Hate and bigotry have no place in our community, our campus, or our hearts.”
The posters come as a group affiliated with the Klu Klux Klan plans to hold a May 25 rally downtown. Dayton and Montgomery County officials and community leaders have condemned the planned rally and its organizers, but the county said it had no choice in issuing a rally permit.
Spina asked that students who come across a poster or something similar to it don’t destroy the item but instead contact police so they can investigate.
Spina also encouraged students to seek help through the campus counseling center, ministry, housing staff, the office of multicultural affairs and professors. Faculty, Spina wrote, should contact the employee assistance program, human resources, the office of diversity and inclusion or the equity compliance office.
“While there is no indication that anyone in our campus community is responsible for posting these signs, there is a disturbing trend across the country of such groups targeting college campuses with their messages,” Spina wrote.
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Signs promoting white supremacist groups have appeared on area college campuses several times.
Just minutes away from UD, signs were posted and subsequently removed on campus at Wright State University late last month.
Posters for the group Identity Evropa first appeared on Wright State’s main campus during the last weekend in February. WSU officials believed the posters — which violated the school’s poster policy — were displayed in an attempt to recruit new members for the organization.
Both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-defamation League identify Identity Evropa as a neo-Nazi organization. The group is known for having posted signs on other college campuses in recent years, including the University of Cincinnati.
The posters come as a group affiliated with the Klu Klux Klan plans to hold a May 25 rally downtown. Dayton and Montgomery County officials and community leaders have condemned the planned rally and its organizers, but the county said it had no choice in issuing a rally permit.
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