White Student Union Moving Forward at Towson U
Matthew Heimbach, interim president of the controversial group, said paperwork to become an official student group will be filed Friday.
The White Student Union is moving ahead with its attempt to gain official recognition as a Towson University student group.
Matthew Heimbach, who is serving as the interim president, said the group still hasn't found a faculty adviser, which is a Towson University requirement.
"We're going to file anyway," he said.
The group believes the requirement is illegal and membership may consider legal action if issues arise, Heimbach said. He claimed that school administrators had pressured faculty against his group.
"The university just doesn't want bad press," he said.
Heimbach, a senior, denied accusations that the White Student Union is racist with an emphatic "of course not."
"The very fact that people think it's racist shows that there is anti-white sentiment out there," he said. "If we were truly in favor of diversity, no one would care."
Despite not yet achieving official status, petitions are already circulating against the White Student Union.
When asked specifically what the group hoped to accomplish, Heimbach said he planned to have speakers on campus, educate and advocate for "white interests."
"We're just looking to do what every other group does," he said.
Heimbach was previously president of the former Youth for Western Civilization, which incited controversy earlier this year after members reportedly scrawled "white pride" in chalk at campus locations. He disputed racist motivations behind that group as well.
"We never did anything that provoked anyone," he said.
Although Towson University has a majority white student population, Heimbach argues there is discrimination and harassment against the race—particularly against white women—on campus. However, he pointed out that white men are also suffering.
"I've heard 'you white boys don't belong here,'" he said. "There is anti-white bias on this campus."
Heimbach said he recognized some of the aggressors as members of the campus' Black Student Union, but said he doesn't condemn the student group as a whole.
"Those were just a few bad apples," he said.
Heimbach urges his detractors to think carefully about racial equality.
"Live up to what you preach," he said. "We're the victims here."
Towson University representatives were not immediately available for comment, although a spokeswoman previously said the school would not comment until paperwork had been filed.
In the campus newspaper The Towerlight on Wednesday, college president Maravene Loeschke addressed the controversy.
"The exchange of opinions and debate is a core principle of higher education and is supported by Towson's commitment to the First Amendment," she wrote in a statement. "Unfortunately, this freedom on occasion allows for ideas that are offensive and hurtful to many and runs against the grain of the values of Towson University."
Mark
4:48 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Young Heimbach's facebook page shows a male figure saluting a raised Confederate flag. The man seems to have issues.
JDStuts
8:17 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Seriously. Let Baltimore County seize this place, shut it down and turn it into a regional park.
What a waste of taxpayer money. State sponsored racism right in the middle of Towson. So glad you are our neighbor TU.
ralahinn1
8:33 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
How is it "racist" to have a "white student union" at a school that has a"black student union?" This now opens the way for other races to open "student unions" if they want to.
JDStuts
8:54 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Oh Geez. If you are this dense I can't even help. Try picking up a history book at say, the 4th grade level and start from there.
Let's just plow this place under and start over. Worse excuse for a college ever.
The only thing going for it is if the county takes it over we'll have plenty of space for new grade schools and awesome athletic fields. Something this area really needs.
Baltimore Matt
9:16 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
If they follow all of the rules (this can be argued but since the faculty is being threaten if they back the group, I would say that they are attempting to follow all of the rules) and fill out the proper paperwork since there are already other racially based clubs, they have every right to have their organization at a publicly funded college, whether we like it or not.
Southland Hills Mom
10:21 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Has anyone investigated where this Matthew Heimbach comes from? Is he from Maryland or out of state? I was told that the members of "Youth for Western Civilization were recruited and "assigned" to a limited number of colleges across the country, essentially to stir up racial trouble. Each campus has an attorney assigned to the chapter, to advise them and keep them just inside the law. This is more than just a few goofy white kids wanting to get together.
Steve
10:52 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
He is tied into the White Identity Movement and also the Anti Immigrant Hate Group "Help Save Maryland'
This loser succumbs to the theory that any attention is good attention.
tommy_sobo
4:14 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
I'm gonna bet you voted for that Kenyan we have in office...
Edward
6:33 am on Friday, September 21, 2012
There is a union for everything else on the planet, why not for white people. I'm not sure these are the right people to do it, but on principal, considering how the world works, it's only fair.
Karl
11:19 am on Friday, September 21, 2012
The politically correct rule is that only minorities can be discriminated against.
Daniel Ewald
12:22 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Sad to hear about my Alma mater.
Heimbach should focus on his studies instead of glorifying our nation's racist past.
Josh Glikin
2:47 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
I'm fairly certain that TU can't stop this, as distasteful as it may be to administrators and everyone else. The university, as a state-owned & run institution, can't deny the application because the university (and others) don't like the content of the message that the group is advocating. It's a 1st Amendment issue. So all the comments & complaints, both formal & informal, demanding that TU take action or do something to stop it, are pretty pointless.
M. Sullivan
3:02 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Josh, it's not necessarily distasteful to "everyone else" . There are some of us who believe it is perfectly fair to allow organizations for anyone, not just certain "special" groups. Please don't assume to speak for me or many others.
Dave
9:40 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Alright, let 'em have at it. I'm guessing their first discussion forum will be something like, Racism let's discuss both the positives and the negatives. Or, Racism and bigotry a discussion of both sides of the issue. They'll be done within the first year of their founding.
RARE MARYLAND INDEPENDENT
11:39 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
I don't think the students at the University even care. It certainly makes sense if there is a Black Student Union, or a Latino Student Union, there should be allowed a White Student Union. I believe Blacks and Latinos have more pressing things on their plates than 10 kids forming a White Student Union. Looking at test scores, and graduation rates in minority communities, this should be the least of their worries.
I am disapointed at the faculty at Towson, I do believe one of the teachers (perhaps a black teacher) should step up - purely out of the concept of free speech, in order to continue dialog. This dialog is what separates us from Middle Eastern countries.
Bill
4:39 pm on Monday, September 24, 2012
A White Student Union has a much in common "free speech" and "diversity" as lingerie football does with the NFL. It is mindless futility masquerading as something larger.
tommy_sobo
3:49 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
So let me get this straight...
NAACP: OK
NAAWP: NOT OK
Miss Black America: OK
Miss White America: NOT OK
Black Student Union: OK
White Student Union: NOT OK
Black History Month: OK
White History Month: Not OK
Black Entertainment Televsion: OK
White Entertainment Television: NOT OK
Anyone else notice the trend here? Just sayin'
Chillin
9:40 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
Tommy,
I've noticed on these threads that when someone brings up truthful realities as you have in your post that all dialogue stops. It's like the the rosy glasses on the faces of liberals all of a sudden turn to crystal clear lenses and they have to move onto reading a different article switching back over to their rose tinted glasses. Keep spreading the truth. BTW, no sarcasm is planted in my comment. I totally agree with your comment.