A student reported finding another “IT’S OKAY TO BE WHITE” sticker late Saturday evening, the second to be found on the Evanston campus this month.

Weinberg senior Samuel Webber said he found the sticker, which has ties to neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, on the middle stall of the men’s bathroom near Main Library’s Information Commons area, located at the entrance of the building.

The finding comes after some students have expressed concern that two other racist incidents in the past two months have made the campus feel less safe.

[Northwestern is investigating three racist incidents on campus. Follow them here]

The posting of the slogan on college campuses and public spaces originates from the online forum 4chan as a trolling campaign to provoke a response, especially from liberals and the media, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The goal is that an “overreaction” to this seemingly harmless phrase would reveal hypocrisy from the left.

But the phrase is historically tied to white supremacist movement, dating back to at least 2001. Neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups often participate in circulating the phrase.

Webber noted that he found the sticker on the same date Adolf Hitler was born, a day on which many hate crimes are reported.

Webber said he reported the incident to University Police after finding the sticker just after 6 p.m. He said police searched the building for more stickers, though he was unsure whether they found more.

Contacted late Saturday night, a UP receptionist declined to comment, referring The Daily to Northwestern’s media relations office.

Some students have criticized the University for being slow to react to recent racist incidents, calling for more transparency and a stronger response. After the Associated Student Government demanded the University acknowledge its “failure,” Patricia Telles-Irvin, the vice president for student affairs, condemned the “repugnant symbols of hate and intolerance” in a public statement, though didn’t concede any shortfalls.

The slogan has appeared on college campuses around the country since at least 2016, when it was popularized by users of 4chan. The phrase was last seen on Northwestern’s Evanston campus earlier this month and again in 2017.

The ADL recorded 1,187 incidents of white supremacist propaganda in the U.S in 2018, up 182 percent from 421 incidents in 2017.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @_perezalan_

Related Stories:
– University condemns racist incidents, says no progress made finding perpetrators
– ASG passes resolution demanding University condemn recent racist campus incidents