Campuswide printers printed copies of anti-Semitic and white supremacist fliers on Friday and Saturday, according to campus graduate student Geert de Vreede.
De Vreede said he discovered the fliers printing in the campus’s Bilder Lab on Friday evening and immediately informed his boss and the building’s manager. He added that the fliers appeared at multiple printers across campus and originated from an untraceable guest account.
According to a blog post by Andrew “weev” Aurenheimer — who took responsibility for the incident — the fliers were created at his request by a staff member at the Daily Stormer, the Neo-Nazi website.
The fliers featured the slogan, “White man are you sick of the Jews destroying your country through mass immigration and degeneracy? Join us in our struggle for global White Supremacy at the Daily Stormer.”
According to an email from UCPD spokesperson Sgt. Sabrina Reich, because many universities’ printers are network-connected, the fliers have been disseminated at multiple other institutions across the nation.
According to the New York Times, more than 12 other universities also received the anti-Semitic fliers, including University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Princeton University and Smith College.
“The FBI is aware of the incident and is assisting local agencies, including UCPD, as we look into the matter,” Reich said. Both UCPD and the campus Information Services and Technology Department are investigating the attack, Reich added in an email.
Campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof, however, said the administration had received no reports of the incident.
Auernheimer’s blog post also detailed the method by which he was able to access the affected universities’ printers. He identified his overarching goal as “a quest to deliver emotionally compelling content to other people’s printers.”
The incident occurred days after the UC Board of Regents approved a revised version of the Statement of Principles Against Intolerance, which condemned anti-Semitism in the university.
Joshua Woznica, a campus junior and the president of the Jewish Student Union, said it is imperative that the university enforce and publicize the amended principles in order for them to be effective.
He expressed hope that the administration would take an official stand condemning the fliers.
“(Administrative condemnation of hate speech) has happened in the past, but comments made by administration are a lot more rare when it comes to anti-Semitic affairs,” Woznica noted.
Becca Berman, president of Bears for Israel, said the fliers served as an example of the enduring prevalence of anti-Semitism.
According to the New York Times, anti-gay and transgender fliers appeared on campus Monday morning, but Aurenheimer claimed that he was not responsible for the new fliers.
