When asked about the idea of the paradox of tolerance — the notion that when one becomes tolerant of intolerance they themselves become complicit in it — Kilquist doubled down.

“It might be a fine line there too, but again, hate of any kind directed toward anyone or any student at JALC will not be tolerated,” he said.

O’Keefe said that he was unaware of other places in the region also being targeted with flyers from the same group.

Catherine Field, a spokesperson for the Carbondale Racial Justice Coalition, said that such “low-tech, publicly observable” forms of hate speech are somewhat uncommon as most of what she sees comes in the form of online comments and posts.

Racist speech and actions are not limited to just handing out pamphlets or shouting on street corners. Fields said personal racism can be subtle, but still is a big problem.

“Personal racism is heard when prospective students say SIU is 'too ghetto,' or when SIU students hang confederate flags in their windows, or insist that the cheerleaders are theirs to command,” she said, in part referring to recent outcry over student-athletes protesting police brutality against persons of color.