Appalachian State students greeted by white supremacy banner

Just as classes were starting for the new school year at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., a white supremacist group hung a banner on a pedestrian bridge on campus as a calling card to other white supremacists.

According to an email sent to students by the university’s chancellor, Sheri N. Everts, two white men posted the banner on Aug. 21 at around 8 p.m., and two others took down the banner about 20 minutes later. As of now, the university police do not know whether the banner was hung by anyone connected to the university.

The banner read, “A New Dawn is Breaking. Rise and Get Active. Identity Evropa.” According to the white supremacy group’s website, Identity Evropa is “A generation of awakened Europeans who have discovered that we are part of the great peoples, history, and civilization that flowed from the European continent. … We oppose those who would defame our history and rich cultural heritage.” The group was active on campuses last year, often posting fliers.

White nationalist Richard Spencer, left, and Nathan Damigo of Identity Evropa speak to members of the media on August 14, 2017 in Alexandria, Virginia. (Photo: Tasos Katopodis, Getty Images)

The timing of this incident comes a few weeks after the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., as well as a #NoHateAppState campaign designed to curb hate on campus – a goal that has already failed, according to several people using the hashtag on Twitter.

USA TODAY College was alerted to the banner on Twitter by Appalachian State senior Chamian Cruz, who expressed dissatisfaction with college administration’s handling of the situation.

USA TODAY College reached out to ASU’s student government for comment but has not received a response.

In her email, Everts told students that solutions to such incidents include students of color sharing their expertise, asking for resources and reporting incidents – none of which have helped to stop recurring racism on campus or keep students of color at ASU safe, according to finance major and senior Tamaya Walker.

“This isn’t unusual. Something like this happens almost every year,” Walker tells USA TODAY College, referring to a prior incident in which anti-immigrant sentiments were chalked on campus. “App will say that they care about students of color and minorities, but I disagree because they always skirt around the issues of racism and sexism without actually doing anything.”

According to the school website, about 18,000 students attend App State, about 15% of whom are ethnic minorities.

Walker says she and other students of color wish the administration of ASU would “consider the difference between free speech and hate speech because I think a lot of these things are pushed under the rug as free speech, but they’re not free speech.”