Racist Flyers Appearing on Campus and in the Community
March 31, 2022 6:40 PM

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

This afternoon we learned of another round of racist, hateful flyers found at various locations around the campus. As with several similar recent incidents, these flyers are appearing inside plastic bags filled with rocks.

This round of messages uses references to the Ku Klux Klan to bring hateful and threatening attacks against people of color in our community. This invocation of an organization that is synonymous with white supremacy, hatred and racially motivated death and violence is a singularly unsettling and unacceptable demonstration of racism and bigotry. We are a university that prides itself on its efforts to foster inclusion and respect and we condemn these messages that are yet another divisive affront to our core and mutual values.  

This is the second time in just a few weeks when I have had to publicly speak out in response to the hateful actions of cowardly individuals who spend their lives secretively dropping sandwich bags filled with gravel and bile. I’m tired of sending these messages and I’m angry that such smallminded people continue these stupid and futile attempts to foster division in our community. But I will never tire of speaking loudly and publicly in defense of the values that guide us here at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Jones
Chancellor