WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Posters promoting white supremacy have turned up on Purdue's campus, with the president of the university issuing a statement Wednesday condemning their message.
Faculty members found a poster at Stanley Coulter Hall, home of Purdue’s school of languages and cultures.
Other posters promoting the group ‘American Vanguard’ turned up in several spots across campus.
American Vanguard says on its website that it “fights for white America.”
In a statement issued Wednesday to RTV6 Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said that the posters are “obviously inconsistent with the values and principles we believe in here at Purdue.”
Daniels also called the posters an “effort to bait people into overreaction.”
Read Purdue President Mitch Daniel’s full statement below:
"Reading the dozen or so words on the posters in question, it’s not at all clear what they mean. But if one looks behind them, as I did, to the organization’s website, there are views expressed there that are obviously inconsistent with the values and principles we believe in here at Purdue. This is a transparent effort to bait people into overreacting, thereby giving a miniscule fringe group attention it does not deserve, and that we decline to do.”
Students on campus said that the news about the posters spread by word of mouth and over social media on Wednesday.
“My English teacher actually mentioned that, I believe in Stanley-Coulter, there had been white supremacy posters,” said freshman Andrew Wagner.
And as word spread, students say they were horrified by the implications and that the posters are not a representation of their campus community.
“This definitely does not represent us as students at Purdue,” said Wagner.
“I think we’re a pretty accepting group. I know there are religious people around. Definitely people are debating and talking about it so people are very open to discussing things here,” said student Julianne Billerman.
Wagner said he believes spreading the images just helps the group behind the posters spread their hate.
“The best thing to do is just kind of ignore them and go on and be positive. Help everyone who is negatively affected by it at all,” said Wagner.
