Fourth Racist Message In A Month Found At Northwestern University

EVANSTON, IL — The fourth message in a month containing a slogan used as propaganda by racist groups was discovered Tuesday at Northwestern University, the university announced. Three stickers and a handwritten note with the message "It's Okay to be White" have been found by students around the Evanston campus since April 6.

The origin of the slogan can be traced to a post on the anonymous internet message board 4chan in October 2017 calling for the "harmless message" to be spread "on campuses (and elsewhere) across the world on [H]alloween night" to provoke a media response and convince "normies" that "leftists & journalists hate white people."

In a statement, university officials said Northwestern strongly condemns the messages. It said the administration is taking the incidents seriously and would thoroughly investigate.

"To some, the expression may seem harmless and legitimate on the surface. Yet for that very reason, it has been adopted in recent years by white-supremacists and neo-Nazi groups as a means to divide communities and harass many of their members."

The first such sticker was discovered on April 6 on a pillar at Allison dining hall and posted to social media by a student.

"This sticker was fun to joke about with my friends," he said, "for a minute, and now makes me feel disturbed and unsafe."

Investigators with the university's private police force reviewed video surveillance but were unable to find evidence of who left the message, according to a statement from the school.

"The University is concerned and disturbed to hear that someone may have left a symbol often used by white supremacist groups on our campus," it said.

The message was found on the Evanston campus again on April 20. A student reported discovering the second sticker in a bathroom stall in the Main Library, according to an announcement from the university. The student took a picture of the sticker before throwing it away, he told campus security. Officers searched nearby library common areas and did not find any additional stickers.

"However, given that we have discovered two such stickers this month, it's possible additional stickers could be placed on our campus in the days and weeks to come, and community members could find them," it said.

Three days later, the message was found for a third time. This time, it was hand written and taped to a hand towel dispenser inside Norris University Center, according to an April 24 statement from school officials.

"The University encourages whoever is doing this to stop," it said, noting the slogan was used as "code" by racist groups "and makes many in our community feel unsafe."

The fourth message was found around 8:15 p.m. on April 30 at a co-working space on the second floor of the North Campus parking garage, according to the university. A student reported he had forgotten his laptop there when leaving around 4:30 p.m. that afternoon. When he returned to pick up the computer he said he found an "It's Okay to Be White" sticker still attached to its original backing paper left inside his laptop sleeve.

The discovery of the four racist stickers followed a March 15 discovery of a noose-shaped rope at Henry Crown Sports Pavilion.

According to statements from the university, a student reported she had accidentally left behind a rope she had used for a class project around 5 p.m. the day before. It was found fashioned into a noose on a table in a common area outside the locker rooms the next morning.

Administrators asked anyone with any information about the incidents to contact Northwestern's public safety department at 847-491-3456.