BU Police Probe Inflammatory Posters Racist, Nazi messages found on BU Bay State Road, Comm Ave locations

BU Police are investigating the posting of inflammatory posters at several locations on campus Saturday night. Photos courtesy of The Tab

The BU Police Department is investigating the placement of large posters with racist and neo-Nazi messages at several locations on campus after a student reported spotting the posters Saturday night, April 30, at the entry of the Yawkey Center for Student Services. The 8½-by-11-inch posters, with messages that include “Black Lives Don’t Matter,” “Atomwaffen Division Massachusetts,” and an image of a Paul Revere–like figure shouting, “The Nazis Are Coming!” were affixed to the glass doors of the center, at 100 Bay State Road.

In a letter to the BU community Tuesday, University President Robert A. Brown expressed his concern about the incident, calling it “a reminder that the human capacity for hate is deeply rooted and never as far from our daily lives as we would like or hope. We also know that the human capacity for healing and renewal in a spirit of generosity and understanding is deeply rooted.” Brown said that he is “heartsick that our community has to experience the hatefulness displayed by the individual or individuals who posted this material.

“The Boston University Police Department is currently investigating the circumstances relating to the posting of these ugly placards in order to determine what actions we may take under law,” Brown wrote. “If we determine that the individual or individuals responsible for the posting are Boston University affiliates, we will also take action that is consistent with our established rules of conduct. We will report on this investigation in BU Today when we have information that we can convey.”

After the initial report of the racist posters, BUPD officers observed similar ones on garage pillars and doors in the vicinity of 730 Comm Ave, site of a CVS, and 750 Comm Ave, which houses BU’s Engineering Product Innovation Center.

The flyers, which were immediately removed, were reported to BU police at 10 p.m. Saturday by a student entering 100 Bay State Road. The police were able to get a fairly good description of the individual who put them there from the video surveillance system near the building’s front door.

Thomas Robbins, BUPD chief, says an investigation to find who put up the posters is currently under way. “We take it seriously,” Robbins says. “We will see what charges we are able to file as a result of the investigation.”