After flyers were found last spring from the white nationalist group Blood and Soil, new stickers emerged on Monday, Sept. 24 stating, "Keep America American," appearing to be from the same group, according to Katie Anderson, a junior graphic and animation design major, who found the sticker.
Anderson found the sticker on Monday around 4 p.m. located on the green electrical box behind Hiner Hall facing the Graham Hall mailroom and, “did a double take.”
Anderson immediately called the Longwood University Police Department (LUPD). She said an officer responded within 10 minutes to remove the sticker.
According to LUPD Chief Col. Bob Beach, no criminal offense was committed by posting the sticker. It was removed since it was not approved for posting by the Lankford Student Union.
Beach said the individuals posting the white nationalist content are doing so in the middle of the night and in places that are not visible on the security cameras placed around campus.
“There’s no funding to put the cameras there,” said Beach in response to an inquiry about adding more cameras around campus.
Beach said since someone with the knowledge of where the security cameras are on campus, he is inclined to believe the individual, or individuals, posting them are either a student or staff member.
“I’ve got a couple of people that are people of interest but I don’t have anything definite...I wouldn’t want to say one way or the other if they are a staff member or a student, but I don’t think they are staff, I’ll be honest with you, and I’m not certain there any students involved,” said Beach.
“I feel like [LUPD] could do more, but they just keep throwing the ‘free speech’ and are they not doing anything after they say that they just rip it down and hope it doesn’t come back?” said Anderson. “They’re not hurting anybody, but I kept thinking they want to hurt people, that’s what these posters are trying to do.”
“Don’t allow these people to rob you of your, first of all, your peace of mind with your safety and security here, if they wanted to confront you they would be doing it in the daytime, nor let them intimidate or bully you with their rhetoric so that you feel compelled in some way to act out or lash out against them,” said Beach.
Blood and Soil flyers, displaying “Resurrection through Insurrection,” were reportedly found in the Longwood Landings and Ruffner Hall last spring.
Beach said there have been “four or five postings,” since the beginning of the semester.
“We have some persons of interest that we are looking at, but it is obviously still an open investigation,” said Beach.
Anderson found one of the flyers in the smoke hut located behind Coyner Hall, near where the sticker was located, last spring.
“There’s no cameras in these areas that they keep putting them,” said Anderson.
“Since I am a part of Gamma Rho Lambda (LGBTQ+ sorority) and I attend Pride Club every week, I feel threatened by it because they basically want nobody who is gay or from another country. They don’t like anyone, apparently, that isn’t white and straight, so I feel attacked by it,” said Anderson.
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A sticker was found on the electrical box located behind Hiner Hall on Monday, Sept. 24 by Katie Anderson who reported it to LUPD and was removed since it failed to adhere to the Lankford Student Union posting policy.
The sticker has now been removed by LUPD officials.
