Texas University Doesn’t Stick Up For Students After Finding White Supremacist Flyers on Campus #HummusHaters
With all the anti-Arab bashing we see in the news every week, Arab America is determined to expse those who discriminate against our community. We will recognize those who vilify the positive influence and contributions Arabs have made to the fabric of American society. And we will use hummus as our weapon. By naming those who vilify the Arab American community as #HummusHaters, we can express our culture positively while showing intolerance to bigotry.
BY: Julia Jahanpour/Contributing Writer
American Vanguard, a white supremacist group, put up a number of flyers and posters across college campuses early this month. The background of the flyers’ included an outline of the twin towers and read: “Imagine a Muslim-Free America”.
Flyers were found at the University of Texas at Austin, Rutgers University, and University of Central Florida. The posters came as a shock to many Muslim and Arab American students, who were offended and hurt by the slogans.
https://twitter.com/azmiaAKAmia/status/831341836375572482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
One Muslim alumna of the University of Central Florida, Azmia Magane, told Mic, “These are not benign ‘free speech’ fliers. This is targeted hate speech against Muslims.”
Fearing that this group wants to make America “Muslim free” through violent means, Magane added, “These posters are literally calling for the removal of Muslims from their homes, followed by subsequent deportation — a so-called ‘peaceful’ cleansing — or genocide. That is violent.”
The campaign started as a way to gain attention from college students and the media. The group prides themselves in being pro-white and anti-immigration. They have stated fear over white people becoming the minority soon, and used their message as a way to appeal to other white youth who share similar sentiments.
After complaints, the University of Texas at Austin removed the flyers. However, the response given by the university as to why the flyers were removed disappointed the students and other organizations. The Texas university said they “support free speech,” but removed the flyers only because they defaced the university property and were not produced by students. The statement did not condemn what the flyers were advocating whatsoever, raising further alarm from students, many of whom fear that their lives are in danger.
The flyers contained similar sentiment as shared by the Nazis, regarding the Jews and other minorities, during the Holocaust. With organizations like American Vanguard furthering these feelings, and fueling more hatred, education institutions like the University of Texas at Austin need to be at the front lines of condemning these behaviors and preventing them from happening again.
Perhaps the University of Texas at Austin needs to start serving hummus in its cafeterias so it can properly show some love to its minority students. There’s a white supremacist group hanging around its campus, so they’ll need all the hummus they can get to stop the group’s message from spreading amongst students and administrators.
