Controversial Towson U. Group To Disband

A controversial student group known for inciting racial tensions has shut down.

The Towerlight reports that Youth for Western Civilization's faculty advisor, , sent a letter on March 8 to the group's president, Matthew Heimbach, condemning the group's tactics and withdrawing his support as advisor.

A faculty or staff advisor is a requirement for a student group to be affiliated with the Student Government Association.

Vatz, a Towson University communications professor and , said he was motivated after reading a lengthy essay by Heimbach posted on the national Youth for Western Civilization website (currently inaccessible) that decried opposition from gay, ethnic and religious groups, at one point calling the Muslim Student Association a "terrorist front."

"I realize that I have been your advisor only nominally, but I cannot in good conscience advise a group that attacks people or groups personally or tactlessly or does not recognize their dignity and the value of dignified argument in the marketplace of ideas," Vatz wrote.

The group, one of over a half-dozen chapters nationwide, formed last fall and was the subject of a contentious hearing to obtain SGA affiliation.

Heimbach told The Towerlight he believes Vatz was pressured by administrators, a charge Vatz denied.

"There was literally no pressure from the administration on me ever," Vatz told Patch.

University administrators had publicly deemed YWC a hate group. Earlier this month, administrators convened a forum on race issues on campus after members of YWC reportedly wrote "White Pride" in chalk in locations across campus.

President Maravene Loeschke said last week in remarks to the that the university "will address it, but we won't break the law to address it."

Youth for Western Civilization began in 2008 on the campus of American University in Washington. The conservative group aims to highlight and preserve Western culture, which it says is under attack from the "radical left."

The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled YWC a hate group.