A month before the fall semester is set to begin at Georgia State University (GSU), numerous complaints have been filed against an unofficial "White Student Union," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The school does not recognize the club, started by incoming freshman Patrick Sharp, 18, as an official student group. He founded it for European and Euro-American students to gather and discuss cultural topics and issues facing white people.

Sharp said any student would be welcome to join and he hopes to work with other student groups, like GSU's Black Student Alliance, on common issues.

"If we are already minorities on campus and are soon to be minorities in this country why wouldn't we have the right to advocate for ourselves and have a club just like every other minority?" said Sharp, 18. "Why is it when a white person says he is proud to be white he's shunned as a racist?"

According to Doug Covey, GSU's vice president for student affairs, six students have complained about the group after seeing their fliers on campus. He said he replied to each one by saying the White Student Union (WSU) is protected by the First Amendment's right to free speech, even if it some may find it offensive.

"Many students choose to come to Georgia State over other colleges because of our diversity," Covey said. "We are proud to have a richly diverse environment that looks like the world in which our students will live and work and lead."

Of GSU's student body, 38 percent of students are white, 35 percent black, 12 percent Asian and seven percent Latino.

Since WSU is not officially recognized by the school, they are not eligible to receive financial support from the school or reserve a private meeting space on campus. However, Covey said they can meet in any public area on the school's campus.

Sharp said he would not likely try to pursue official status, as it would require him to find a faculty advisor. He said doubts he would find one and fully expects critics to call him and the WSU members racists.

"I've already heard some of that and I don't care what they have to say," Sharp said.

He said the WSU of Towson University in Maryland, started by Mathew Heimbach, inspired him to do the same. That group was designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and two of its members recently spoke out for racial segregation at a Conservative Political Action Conference.

Sharp was sure to distance himself from that incident, though. He stated he only wants to celebrate and discuss heritage with his group.

"All we want to do is celebrate white identity," he said. "This is about being in touch with who you are as a white person and being proud of that."