Nineteen years ago this week, Oberlin students were shocked to find signs and a banner posted on campus that advocated the murder of black students and extolled white supremacy. In response to the signs and banner, the General Faculty passed three anti-hate measures, and after this article was published, 1000 Oberlin students, faculty and staff marched against racism on campus.

    – The News Team

April 29, 1988

The anonymous display of white supremacist and racist slurs on two occasions this week has shaken the campus.

Sunday morning at 9, a student employee of the Student Union found a large banner reading “White Supremacy Rules” strung up on the porch of Wilder Hall. The student employee took the banner down.

The next day, around 2:45 p.m., several handwritten signs with racist and white supremacist messages were found taped to stalls in the A-level bathrooms of Mudd Learning Center. The signs read, “Kill All Abusua Members, (Bush people don’t deserve to live),” “White Supremacy Rules, (Kill All Niggers),” “White Supremacy Rules, (Fuck [slashed out and replaced with ‘Kill’] All Minorities).”

The first sign was discovered Monday in one of the bathroom stalls by a white woman, who threw it away. Senior Crystal Collins, who was in the bathroom at the time, asked the student what she had found. According to Collins, the student said, “It’s so bad; it’s so bad.” Collins took the sign, which read “Kill all niggers,” out of the trash.

She went into the other stalls and found three more signs. “It’s so disappointing, it’s frightening,” she said.

President Starr sent a letter to the College community Tuesday morning recommending the expulsion for the perpetrator or perpetrators if they are found to be students.

[Oberlin Security Chief Richard] McDaniel said Tuesday the chances of discovering who was responsible are “fairly slim,” although he added, “I don’t want to say there’s no hope at all.”