Dozens of multicultural posters were put up across Kansas State University campus Sunday evening in an apparent attempt to counter the white nationalist posters that had been hung up a little over a month ago.
Collegian multimedia editor Justin Wright was leaving the newsroom for the night when he noticed several of the posters, which had multicultural messages such as “#BLM”, the word “#FAMILY” on a rainbow background and a definition of the word “consent,” around Kedzie Hall. Wright alerted other Collegian staffers, who had been working on Monday’s print edition of the paper but subsequently investigated the posters, as they had not been put up when Collegian staff began work on the paper earlier in the night.Related:
White nationalist posters appear on campus
The Collegian was able to confirm that posters had been put up across campus by the dozens in areas as southeast as the crosswalk to Aggieville, northeast near the Leadership Studies Building and on a metal traffic light control box near the crosswalk between the Kramer Complex and Ackert Hall — the same place one of the more prominent white nationalist posters had been put up last month.
It was not immediately clear if the posters had been approved for posting by the Division of Facilities. University regulations dictate that all posters put up on campus must be accepted and approved by the division, and they must have the approval of each building in which they are posted or risk being removed.
Although university officials had condemned the white nationalist posters in September, the officials also said the posters would have been allowed to stay up, had they gone through the proper channels.
Jon Cole, member of Cats for Inclusion and senior in mechanical engineering, said he was not personally involved with putting up the posters but that he did know students who were. Cole said he could not give the names of those students to the Collegian due to safety concerns, but he said the students’ motive was “to counteract all of the hate that has gone on campus the past couple of months.”
In the past five weeks, the university has seen a number of alleged discriminatory acts on campus, including the white nationalist posters, a homophobic slur in Bosco Plaza and the vandalism of a Jewish religious structure, although a Kansas State University Police Department investigation found that the structure’s damage was the result of a storm.
Cole said the students contacted some faculty members to make sure the posters would be allowed to remain, and those faculty members said the rules regarding posters are hardly enforced.
