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A group of posters found around Memorial University of Newfoundland’s (MUN) main campus in St. John’s in the fall of 2017 was disturbing to students and faculty, causing a sensation in responding expressions of outrage on social media.

The posters were titled “The Islamic domination of the West,” and offered commentary pointed at refugees and minorities, and directed readers to “Look around.”

According to the university, their origins remain unknown.

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Anti-Islamic poster causes stir on MUN campus

University president Gary Kachanoski immediately condemned the posters’ sentiments as not aligning with MUN values, while calling in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for further investigation.

On Tuesday, a university spokesman confirmed police concluded there was no criminal activity.

“Memorial’s Campus Enforcement and Patrol (CEP) unit conducted its own investigation into the incidents. However, they were unable to positively identify the individual,” read a statement provided to The Telegram.

Since the appearance of the posters, it said, campus security has stepped up patrols, with a specific eye for anything in any similar vein.

New poster requirements coming

The anti-Islamic posters are not the only poster issue to have come up for the university in the recent past. In 2016, as The Muse newspaper reported, posters went up with faces of Liberal members and references to methylmercury and Muskrat Falls flooding, calling on the public to question MHAs on their support for “domestic terrorism” in the form of reservoir flooding for the hydroelectric project.

There have been complaints about posters being torn down, with the complaints suggesting poster removals are an attack on free speech.

Posters at MUN are about to come under new guidelines. It is not clear yet what the guidelines will contain and there are students not happy with the process.

The MUN Campus Conservatives have been pressing for details, calling on the university Senate to open up the process for broader consultation. The group sent a letter in mid-December to provost and vice-president (academic) Noreen Golfman expressing concerns.

Earlier this month, the group’s vice-president, Kirk Quilty, told The Telegram the guidelines will mean a great deal to student organizations and individuals.

“Posters are really a way that differing ideas can be put out there, groups can put out ideas, they can put out things about their events and what not, so if there are particular biases against certain ideologies or certain perspectives to the point where we’re not able to express ourselves in a way that’s consistent with free speech, that’s problematic,” Quilty said.

The Telegram was told a working group consisting of four or five people, including the university’s senior policy analyst, was established in late 2017 and has been working on the guidelines.

The guidelines are said to now be in the final stages of review and approval, with the intention to have the process completed before the end of the semester.

“We are committed to providing a safe, respectful environment for all members of the campus community, and we will ensure that the poster guidelines reflect that principle,” read a statement provided in response to questions.

“We have decided not to discuss free speech at Senate or to engage the university community in consultation around what constitutes free speech.”