U of T Mississauga removes white nationalist posters from campus over procedural issue

The University of Toronto Mississauga has removed white nationalist posters from campus not because of their content, but rather due to a procedural issue.

The posters in question read either “Europa Eternal” or “Europa Forever” and show images of white men. It’s a campaign by Students For Western Civilisation, a white nationalist group that that has spread its message to university campuses before.

But the reason the posters were removed from campus had nothing to do with the content.

“We have a commitment to diversity to equity, to inclusion, those are core values but those are not the reasons why they were removed,” said U of T spokeswoman Jane Stirling. “They were not in compliance with the procedures.”

According to the university’s website, all signs, posters and flyers have to submitted for consideration, and staff decides whether they are acceptable to post.

New items are posted if space permits, but there don’t appear to be clear rules about content.

“The university doesn’t have a view on the posters,” Stirling said. “We believe in knowledge dissemination; we stand for academic freedom and free speech.”

The school’s student union said it’s disappointed and plans to speak with the university. It says it wants to see a stronger stance against such propaganda and create a safer and more inclusive environment for students.

Meanwhile, Students For Western Civilisation President George Hutcheson said his movement resists what it calls hostility towards white people and European culture.

“The goal of the campaign is to assert our Euro-Canadian identity,” he said.

“It’s a protest against the movement to tear down sculptures and other symbols of European-Canadian identity.”