RKSK Poster Removal Update

Over the past several weeks, a number of posters have been removed from spaces around campus, apparently regardless of their content, even ones including official communications by the college. As readers may recall from the article “Audrey Bilger Joins the Red Menake” published February 27, the Reed Kommunist Shit Kollektiv (RKSK) has previously had some posters taken down. While these actions seem unrelated to the further campus-wide removals, we have recently received more information about the removal of several hundred posters from Commons on the night of Wednesday, February 18. Assistant Director of Community Safety Dhyana Westfall ’05 had only been informed of the removal of posters from outside the President’s Office in an arms report, but an anonymous Community Safety Officer confirmed that there was radio chatter about removing the entirety of the posters from Commons that night. The remainder of the article is unchanged by this revelation.

The more recent poster removals have included several RKSK posters advertising a lollipop garden, as well as advertising the bikes placed around campus by the Kollektiv. In addition, Janice Yang of the Office of Student Engagement stated that posters for events which her staff had placed around campus, including those pertaining to a book talk from Supreme Court Justice Katanji Brown Jackson, a trip run by Gray Fund Outings (GFO) Arts and Culture, as well as other GFO posters, had been removed. Yang stated that she had also heard reports of posters for other college-sponsored events, including the Reed Union and those put on by academic departments, being removed. Yang approached a number of offices, including all those with responsibilities pertaining to posting on campus, and all denied knowledge of the removals.

Yang stated that representatives from the offices whom she had spoken to expressed concern about the removal of posters making it more difficult for students to learn about and attend their events. Significant concern has also been expressed by other staffers with whom I spoke while writing this article, particularly about the removal of posters for the Reed Union, an open forum where community members can comment on administrative decisions on campus. This semester, the Union was about free speech and posting on campus, an irony which was not lost on those who I spoke to about the removals. Yang additionally mentioned that she would appreciate updates if community members have information about what is happening to the missing posters.