Recruitment posts for a white nationalist party on Facebook received public backlash from VCU students the first week of school.
VCU philosophy student and self-proclaimed “eccentric philosopher of politics and ethics” Derrick Davis posted in multiple class Facebook pages encouraging students to join the Traditionalist Worker Party on Aug. 23.
According to the Traditionalist Worker Party website, the group is “America’s first political party created by and for working families.” The Southern Poverty Law Center described the group, formed in 2015, as the political wing of the Traditionalist Youth Network, which aims to “indoctrinate high school and college students into white nationalism.”
The recruitment flier Davis shared read “Faith, Family, Folk” and portrays a caucasian man waving a flag with the TWP logo on it. Multiple fliers have also appeared on the VCU campus.
The comments that followed on Facebook were less than supportive, asking Davis to stop “spread(ing) hate toward minorities while attending an extremely diverse school” and that “oppression and white supremacy aren’t welcome at VCU.”
Davis declined comment, but Matthew Heimbach, one of the group’s founders and current chairman of TWP, said the party has received much support from a “silent body of students” despite the negative comments online.
“Both nationalist and members of the Alt-Right have told us that they are tired of the radical Left dominating the campus culture,” Heimbach said in an email. “They are ready to stand up for the principles of Faith, Family and Folk.”
Although students are being recruited to join, TWP is not an official on-campus organization. Heimbach said TWP is moving toward becoming an on-campus organization in the spring, which would give the party time to build a presence as an “active part of campus life.”
“We aim to bring in speakers and host nationalist events on campus throughout the school year and beyond,” Heimbach said.
Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Student Affairs Reuban Rodriguez said the university is aware of the tension the posts caused on Facebook, but because VCU is a public institution the university does not limit free speech protected by the First Amendment or organizations becoming on-campus groups.
Rodriguez said if TWP follows the necessary requirements, the group could potentially become an official on-campus group next semester.
Brittney Maddox, a senior gender studies major and a program assistant in the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, said when she and her friends first saw Davis’ post they thought it was an “internet troll.”
“We honestly thought it was a joke,” Maddox said. She said she continued to engage with Davis on Facebook, firing comments back and forth at one another on the recruitment post.
Maddox said it wasn’t until a friend sent her a link to the TWP website that she realized Davis was serious.
“I had to look at the page and read all of the information. And that’s when it came very real for me,” Maddox said. “This is scary.”
Maddox said she informed administrators about the posts, but according to Rodriguez the university is not in a position to step in unless students feel personally harassed or threatened.
“Speech is allowed to a certain point. It cannot threatened or harm others, cause a riot – there are limits to free speech. But VCU does not place any prohibitions on students,” Rodriguez said.
If students feel threatened in any way, Rodriguez said to submit a complaint through the Division of Student Affairs’ Bias Response page online.
Online Editor, Maura Mazurowski
Maura is a senior cinema and journalism student. She’s interested in combining investigative journalism with filmmaking, and is a contributing writer for the online publications Elite Daily and Literally Darling. Before transferring to VCU, Maura was an editor for the student newspaper at Virginia Tech, the Collegiate Times. // Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Portfolio
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