York University Removes Offensive Flyers
ByYork University has taken down a number of racist flyers that were posted around campus, CBC News reported.
There is speculation that the flyers were distributed by Immigration Watch Canada, the same group that has been targeting some Brampton neighborhoods, including an adjacent neighborhood where many students live.
The flyers feature images of what they claim were students of the Toronto college in the 1960s, and stated that nearly 100 percent of the student population was white in 1968. It also featured a more recent image of a more diverse group of students with a caption saying "soon whites will be the minority."
Students at the public university are calling on the school to take immediate action, saying the flyers take aim at the participation of racialized students in post-secondary education and make derogatory remarks about immigrant communities.
"We are disturbed and appalled by these blatantly racist flyers and the actions of Immigration Watch Canada," Mithilen Mathipalan, vice-president of Equity of the York Federation of Students, said in a statement. "The diversity of the York community is a source of strength and we will not tolerate any kind of hate speech that fosters an unsafe environment for students."
Mathipalan, who believes Immigration Watch Canada was responsible for the flyers, noted that the group has a history of distributing offensive and racist materials to the public. Most recently, the group delivered xenophobic and anti-immigrant materials to homes in nearby Brampton, a community many York students call home.
"No one should be subjected to such hateful and offensive messaging on their campus or in their community," Mathipalan said. "Students deserve to live, work and study without fear of discrimination or harassment. There is absolutely no place for this at York University."
The York Federation of Students represents over 53,000 undergraduate students at York University.