On November 27, 2023, students alerted Whitworth University Security to Patriot Front stickers being posted around campus. Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to civil rights movements in the United States, labels Patriot Front as a white supremacist hate group. The stickers were posted in areas outside Hawthorne Hall and Nelson Phenology Garden, on traffic signs and electrical posts lining Hawthorne Road.
Joshue Orozco, vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Whitworth, further described Patriot Front as having a white supremacist ideology that is also aligned with some antiimmigrant and antisemitic ideologies. The group also has connections to the “Unite the Rite” rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Whitworth president Scott McQuilkin released a statement on November 30 notifying the student body about the stickering and denounced the group’s message. He furthermore declared that Whitworth does not believe that it was an act of vandalism committed by any member of the student or staff body. McQuilkin went on to explain that the Spokane Police Department has been notified of the event, as well as neighboring schools, such as Gonzaga University, as they have also been targeted in the past. On behalf of the Whitworth staff, McQuilkin apologized for any hurt that the stickers posed and provided resources to students who may have been negatively impacted by the event.
“Our commitment to Christ calls us to stand against these messages of hate and to reaffirm the dignity and rights of all people as image bearers of God. The move toward justice is never inevitable, and it requires continual vigilance and an ongoing commitment from each of us to actively resist injustice and foster a community of equity and inclusion for all people,” said McQuilkin in his message. “We can’t take for granted that if we don’t do anything, or that if we’re not actively resisting and looking for ways to bring healing and restoration to our world, that that will happen on its own,” said Orozco in response to McQuilkin’s message. “It’s easy to just assume that progress will just happen because we’ve seen progress in the past but forget about the resistance,” said Orozco.
Orozco went on to explain that, as an educational institution, it is part of Whitworth’s mission to engage in continual dialogue about our community as well as where injustice is occurring, and how we can improve those situations. “Whether or not we’re doing a good job, [we] should be informed by how our community is perceiving their own safety,” said Orozco.
Whitworth’s prompt, effective response to the event displays its lack of tolerance for hate in our community, as well as its compassion for and protection of its members. Orozco is currently working with the faculty of the political science department to screen a film about extremist groups to help educate our community about groups like these within our area. Hopefully, as community members, we can be better equipped for active resistance to these messages and promote continual effort toward justice.
