The College Republicans issued a statement distancing themselves from the card, but acknowledged that it was circulated at their Valentine’s Day party on Wednesday.
— Autumn Gairaud (@aegairaud) February 9, 2017
“At tonight’s College Republican meeting, we had a Valentine’s Day party, in which each member decorated a bag and other members placed valentines inside of others’ bags,” the statement reads. “Unfortunately, a very inappropriate card was placed into a bag without other members’ knowledge. A bag was then given away to students sitting in Anspach [Hall], once again without members’ knowledge of its contents. The College Republicans as an organization did not distribute this valentine. We in no way condone this type of rhetoric or anti-Semitism. We apologize for any offense, and want students to know that we do not tolerate this sort of behavior.”
“While still not appropriate, I want to clear up that they did not create it themselves,” Flynn asserted to the student newspaper.
The card was then given to people outside of the group, who quickly posted photos of the highly-offensive message on social media, tagging the university.
While the university has stated that they are investigating the incident, the outrage on campus continues, and students are now organizing a rally against hate speech for next Thursday.
“Central Michigan Action is taking a stand and refusing to let this hate go unanswered,” organizers wrote on a Facebook event page. “We will reaffirm that CMU is a welcoming place for all with a peaceful demonstration and rally. Some people will be talking about their experiences with hate speech.”
