Written by Anushka Vineet
Content Warning: This article includes references to racism and discrimination.
It has been reported that a disturbing number of white supremacist stickers and propaganda have been distributed around campus.
On Monday, 18 August, the BIPOC Department shared via social media their condemnation of the “disgustingly racist attack on our marginalised students”. These stickers have been allegedly placed over “pro-Palestine posters, the cultural centre which is named after an indigenous woman and signs pertaining to BIPOC organisations such as the department”. They reported the incident to the National Security Hotline with evidence of the stickers and the alleged perpetrator.
This comes just a week after the BIPOC department released a statement condemning the erasure of the BIPOC mural for a second time. The ANU removed the BIPOC mural, citing a conflict with the current poster policy.
Observer spoke with the BIPOC Department regarding the actions that will be taken following this incident.
BIPOC Officer Aleesya Amirizal stated she is “set to have a meeting with Genevieve Bell regarding this issue alongside Seungbin (International Officer) and Malachi (Indigenous Officer)”.
Amirizal is also currently writing a motion that she hopes to pass at next week’s Student Representative Council (SRC) meeting. This SRC motion aims to gain the full support of ANUSA in any future action the department plans to take.
Amirizal provided Observer with an email that she wrote to ANU staff and the relevant bodies following the incident. She states that the stickers are associated with the “National Socialist Network (NSN), an extremist neo-Nazi organisation with known links to terrorism”. The NSN is Australia’s largest neo-Nazi organisation and is known to “draw inspiration” from Brenton Tarrant, who was responsible for the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.
With the upcoming “March for Australia” protest against touted ‘mass migration’, scheduled for August 31st, 2025, there are renewed concerns about hate crimes and the safety of BIPOC students on campus. Amirizal is “deeply concerned that hate crimes such as this may escalate as extremist groups mobilise in the lead-up to that event.” This is not without precedent, with such protests attracting a white supremacist audience in previous instances.
Amirizal urges the university to contact the Australian Federal Police (AFP) as they could “possess intelligence on whether this individual acted alone or is affiliated with a broader group such as remnants of the National Socialist Network”.
She also states that the incident brings into question campus security procedures. “[The] onus is now on ANU to review its surveillance and patrol systems not only around the safe space but around all impact areas”.
Amirizal has called for the university to take “a firm and visible stance against white supremacy by removing its symbols, deplatforming its messages, and holding those responsible to account”.
The BIPOC Department has urged students to report the stickers and the perpetrators to ANU Security, and to be cautious when removing the stickers themselves. Given the history of razors under these sorts of stickers, reporting the stickers rather than removing them is advised.
Observer will continue to report on the story as it develops.
Graphics by Shé Chani and Eve-Lily Kelly
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