Just before UTM’s Thanksgiving break, an unknown perpetrator placed 36 fliers promoting the “Church of Creativity,” a pantheistic, white supremacist religion, on the windshields of cars parked on the perimeter of campus lots Tuesday, Nov. 26.
The perpetrator was confronted by a concerned student, at which time, they dropped the fliers and fled the scene.
Chancellor Keith Carver and members of the administration held a community conversation to discuss the incident on Monday, Dec. 2, in the Boling University Center.
The group shared reactions with one another and considered ways to prevent incidents like this from happening again in the future.
Carver said a new grant will allow for the university to purchase up to 200 new surveillance cameras to cover “blindspots” on campus next year.
“We’re going to be able to potentially video our entire campus, including our perimeters which is what we need to be doing, and I’m excited about that already.”
Several students shared a sense of disgust and repulsion at the incident, and proposed solutions to help combat racially charged incidents.
Students, faculty and administrators floated the idea of additional events focusing on the African-American student experience and restructuring mandatory English classes to also focus on equality and fair treatment of minorities.
Members of the administration also discussed hiring more diverse faculty and staff and measures already in place to ensure this happens.
Carver mentioned that similar literature had been found at nearby colleges earlier this year, such as Murray State University and Southeast Missouri State University.
Although no one has been apprehended, based off these similar incidences, Carver and members of the administration suggested the perpetrator could be moving around targeting college campuses and not specifically a student or member of the community.
When Natilie Williams, an Education major from Memphis, was asked what solutions she thought could prevent incidents like this, she cited the need for more communication.
“If all of us come together and speak about certain situations, I feel as if these certain situations wouldn’t happen”.
