Austin Lamb, accounting junior, said he found one of the posters on a bulletin board in Meinders School of Business on Sept. 23.
“It just kind of stuck out because it was printed on long paper instead of the normal printing paper,” he said.
Lamb said he assumed the posters were a recruitment ad for a religious sect.
“It just was some long rambling about the apocalypse coming,” he said.
Lamb said he took one of the posters and brought it to his friend, Erik Hamilton, acting senior.
Hamilton viewed the posters as a threat, Lamb said.
Lamb said he, Hamilton, and Joey Witten, acting junior, went to Meinders and took down all the posters they could find.
“I personally thought it was funny in its own way because I felt like if I didn’t think it was funny, I would be scared by it, and I know that’s what its intention was,” Witten said. “We did realize that we should take precautions, obviously. No matter how much of a stupid thing it is, it did pretty expressly say that it was going to commit violence on people, and it did talk about ‘savage beheadings.’”
Witten and Lamb said they went with Hamilton and turned one copy in to the Oklahoma City University Police Department, and they said Hamilton also turned one into the Oklahoma City Police Department.
“They [OCUPD] seemed appreciative. They seemed like they were taking it seriously,” Witten said. “Erik said that the Oklahoma City Police Department, they seemed kind of dismissive at first, but when he showed them the poster, they seemed to be pretty attentive. They seemed to take it seriously.”
Interim Chief Police Mark LaHue said he did not know anything about the posters.
Emma Roper, percussion senior, said she saw the posters in Wanda L. Bass School of Music on Sept. 22. As students began to notice them, they took them down, she said.
“I didn’t take them as threatening,” Roper said. “Living in Oklahoma you see bible quotes everywhere. The weird font and highlighted words made me think the person was unhinged but harmless. Probably a straggler from walking on 23rd.”
Witten said he searched for any record of the poster’s language or symbology on the internet but could find no evidence of the group’s existence.
“I googled just everything I could think of on the poster that could lead me to exactly what they were,” he said.
Witten and Lamb said they tried anonymously calling the number listed on the poster, but it went to voicemail.
Witten said the voicemail seemed improperly set up and said he thought the group did not have competent leadership.
The posters were only in Meinders, Witten and Lamb said. They said they checked several other buildings but none had the posters in them.
Dr. Tiffany Smith, director of student engagement, and Allison Hudson, assistant director of student engagement, said they were unfamiliar with the posters.
Smith said the posters had not been approved by the Involved Center.
“We mainly check the university center and occasionally check some of the posters in the other buildings, but we’re not staffed enough to be able to handle all of that across campus on a daily basis,” Smith said. “That is left to, and empowered by, our staff and faculty in those buildings to be checking those and looking for posters that maybe don’t have stamps of approval or are outdated, so they are able to take those down as needed.”
Hudson said as new posters are put up by Involved Center workers, the boards are checked and posters are taken down as needed.
“From my knowledge, they haven’t been posted again,” Hudson said.
Smith said people should follow proper protocol to bring posters by the Involved Center office for approval, or they will be taken down.
Erik Hamilton is a staff writer for Student Publications. He was not involved in the writing or editing of this story.
Austin Lamb, accounting junior, said he found the posters on a bulletin in Meinders on Sept. 23.
“It just kind of stuck out because it was printed on long paper instead of the normal printing paper,” he said.
Lamb said he assumed the posters were a recruitment ad for a religious sect.
“It just was some long rambling about the apocalypse coming,” he said.
Lamb said he took one of the posters and brought it to his friend, Erik Hamilton, acting senior.
Hamilton viewed the posters as a threat, Lamb said.
Lamb said he, Hamilton, and Joey Witten, acting junior, then went to Meinders and took down all the posters they could find.
“I personally thought it was funny in its own way because I felt like if I didn’t think it was funny, I would be scared by it, and I know that’s what its intention was,” Witten said. “We did realize that we should take precautions, obviously. No matter how much of a stupid thing it is, it did pretty expressly say that it was going to commit violence on people, and it did talk about ‘savage beheadings.’”
Witten and Lamb said they went with Hamilton and turned one copy in to the Oklahoma City University Police Department, and they said Hamilton also turned one into the Oklahoma City Police Department.
“They [OCUPD] seemed appreciative. They seemed like they were taking it seriously,” Witten said. “Erik said that the Oklahoma City Police Department, they seemed kind of dismissive at first, but when he showed them the poster, they seemed to be pretty attentive. They seemed to take it seriously.”
Witten said he searched for any record of the poster’s language or symbology on the internet but could no evidence of the group’s existence.
“I googled just everything I could think of on the poster that could lead me to exactly what they were,” he said.
Witten and Lamb said they tried anonymously calling the number listed on the poster, but it went to voicemail. They did not leave a message.
Witten said the voicemail seemed improperly set up and said he thought the group did not have competent leadership.
The posters were only in Meinders, Witten and Lamb said. They said they checked several other buildings but none had the posters in them.
Dr. Tiffany Smith, director of student engagement, and Allison Hudson, assistant director of student engagement, said they were unfamiliar with the posters.
Smith said the posters had not been approved by the Involved Center.
“We mainly check the university center and occasionally check some of the posters in the other buildings, but we’re not staffed enough to be able to handle all of that across campus on a daily basis. That is left to and empowered by our staff and faculty in those buildings to be checking those and looking for posters that maybe don’t have stamps of approval or are outdated, so they are able to take those down as needed,” Smith said
Hudson said as new posters are put up by Involved Center workers, the boards are checked and posters are taken down as needed.
“From my knowledge, they haven’t been posted again,” Hudson said.
Smith said people should follow proper protocol to bring posters by the Involved Center office for approval, or they will be taken down.
Contributing: Editor-in-Chief Emily Wollenberg
Erik Hamilton is a staff writer for Student Publications. He was not involved in the writing or editing of this story.
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