Help! Our Flyers Keep Getting Torn Down!
A vandalized flyer at the University of Chicago, shredded by a key. Others were torn down altogether, had crosses drawn on them, and derogatory comments written in.
I hear from a number of affiliates each semester that the flyers they post for meetings or events are being torn down or vandalized. This is an unfortunate and all-too-common problem, and it's a shame that some people can be so threatened by the mere presence of our groups that they feel the need to prevent interested students from participating.
Frustrations aside, we've put together some strategies that your group can try to alleviate or overcome this problem. Some might work better than others, depending on your campus environment and policies, and we're always happy to hear what happens when you try these ideas.
Report Vandalism
When your flyers are being routinely vandalized or torn down, report it to your school. Your student activities office (or the equivalent at your school) should be made aware that flyers are being torn down, and if it's really hostile (if people are writing threats on your flyers, for example) you might take it to the campus police as well. It might also make for a good letter to the editor or article in your campus paper - not only does it raise awareness of the problem, but it can also serve as free advertising for your group.
Outsmart & Deny Convenience
Someone will usually only vandalize a flyer if it is quick, easy, and unlikely to be noticed. Removing these factors can help your flyers stay where they're supposed to be.
If you have trouble with your flyers being torn down, you can try attaching them more securely: use a gazillion staples, or big stretches of packing tape. If your problem is unwanted additional comments, covering the critical information with tape (it's hard for the average pen or pencil to stick) or laminating the flyers (good for those flyers that say "every Wednesday at 7 in the Student Union") can discourage vandals. In both cases, try putting the flyers in hard-to-reach places: up high on the walls, or in enclosed bulletin board or announcement cases. Or focus your flyers in high-traffic areas such as cafeterias or busy hallways where vandals will be noticed by other students.
Bring Attention to the Problem
One of my favorite suggestions for dealing with this kind of problem is actually bringing attention to the damaged flyers and raising awareness of the problem. Someone suggested at our last conference putting a line like "Support discrimination: tear down this flyer" on your materials. Another group suggested saving all the vandalized flyers and putting them together as a public display - talk to the art department or student affairs departments to see what options are available for this kind of project. Or, you could run a flyering campaign specifically aimed at the problem: "X% of the flyers for AAFT are regularly torn down. Do you support intolerance?"
For you empiricists out there, no, I don't actually have data that this solves the problem. But it does help educate your campus about a real problem, and there is definitely ground for some useful comparisons to be made: what if the flyers being torn down were for Hillel or the LGBT club on campus?
To see an example of a letter written in response to vandalism and printed in the school newspaper, check out East Central University's here.
Is This A Hate Crime?
I get this question from time to time - is flyer vandalizing a hate crime? Arguments can be made either way. However, we strongly encourage you to report to campus or local police any flyer vandalizing that does include threats of any kind - whether that be burly fratboys who aggressively follow you around tearing down the flyers you just put up, threats written on the flyers themselves, or any other threatening behavior.
Share Best Practices
If you try one of these suggestions and find that it works (or not), or you try different approaches on your own campus, we want to hear about it. Contact organizer(AT)secularstudents(DOT)org and let us know what's worked for your group!
Submitted by Lyz on Sat, 02/27/2010 - 15:02
