Traditionalist Worker Party鈥檚 hate graffiti campaign at University of Tennessee
The Rock at the University of Tennessee has often featured graffiti related to Volunteer sports and the general mood of the campus.
鈥淏eat Florida,鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 Gameday鈥� and other forms of student expression have decorated the 80-ton slab of Dolomite over the years.
Lately, though, racist graffiti has marred the popular stone.
The Traditionalist Worker聽Party tagged The Rock with neo-Nazi and white supremacist slogans in December, in one case painting over a sign welcoming new football coach Jeremy Pruitt to campus and in another marring a birthday message to a student.
The graffiti sparked student anger about how the school chose to respond to the racist message.
The university鈥檚 initial response was to tweet to reassure students the 鈥淰olunteer community鈥� would take care of the graffiti quickly.
鈥淲hile we sometimes disagree with what appears on the Rock, those who paint it are protected by the First Amendment,鈥� the university said in a since-deleted tweet.
That didn鈥檛 satisfy the 鈥淰olunteer community鈥� on Twitter.
鈥淭hey may be protected by the first amendment, but what鈥檚 worse is that you, as a University, just condoned racism,鈥� . 鈥淵ou said, 鈥渟ometimes we disagree鈥� (which is not disagreeing) rather than saying, 鈥淲e do NOT agree with what is written on the rock鈥� to a woman of color! Unacceptable鈥�
The complaints and response go to the heart of how public institutions, churches and others respond when white supremacists choose their buildings and property as billboards for their message.
And, the responses have been handled differently across the country.
Holocaust deniers struck a synagogue in Seattle with graffiti in March. Rabbi Daniel Weiner, who oversees the synagogue, left the graffiti intact for everyone to see.
The synagogue erected a small sign in front reading: 鈥淭emple de Hirsch Sinai is aware of this graffiti. We are choosing to leave it exposed for the time being.鈥�
A high school in Baltimore closed for the day earlier in December after racist graffiti was found and removed from school property.
Of course, there鈥檚 also the reverse idea. . After it was stolen earlier this month, Joseph Ruibal and his son, Preston Ruibal, built a new one and put it back up.
It鈥檚 not the university鈥檚 first run-in with TWP. In September, the school removed flyers advocating white nationalist positions from an academic building.
"I can鈥檛 speculate on the 'what ifs'聽but we have a process for evaluating materials (that are compliant with our Literature Distribution policy) while ensuring that we uphold the First Amendment,"
There are only a few certainties with the graffiti on The Rock, as long as the TWP remains active in East Tennessee, they鈥檒l continue to mark up the iconic public billboard.
And, that university officials deal with hate speech on campus.
