The University of Maine is among several major colleges and universities across the country that have received racist, anti-Semitic fliers on their network-connected printers and fax machines.

A representative of the Anti-Defamation League said a neo-Nazi group appears to have hacked into school information systems in what might be a new tactic among hate groups.

UMaine, located in Orono, posted an announcement on the home page of its website explaining that several fliers were sent to campus printers last week, including two that appeared on printers in the Memorial Union on Friday. Campus police and information technology officials are investigating, the announcement said.

The fliers began to appear Thursday at institutions across the nation, including Princeton University, Brown University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the University of Southern California, The Associated Press reported.

The fliers, which are addressed to “white men” and disparage Jewish people, include links to a neo-Nazi website, the AP reported.

Robert Trestan, director of the Anti-Defamation League’s New England office, said a white power group appears to have hacked into school printers and that it’s a new tactic for a hate group.

Trestan said the founder of the neo-Nazi website has previously urged supporters to troll perceived enemies, including a Jewish member of the British Parliament, Luciana Berger, on Twitter.

Other affected schools include Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts; the University of California, Santa Cruz; Northeastern University in Boston; the University of Rhode Island; the University of Connecticut; DePaul University in Chicago; and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Trestan told the AP.

Kumble Subbaswamy, chancellor of UMass Amherst, called the fliers “cowardly” in an email to students and faculty members, the AP reported.

“This despicable incident reminds us that we must not be complacent as we continue to strive for a society that embraces diversity, inclusion and equity – a society where everyone feels safe and welcome,” Subbaswamy wrote.

In a similar statement, Michele Minter, Princeton’s vice provost for institutional equity and inclusion, said the university “attaches great importance to mutual respect and we deplore expressions of hatred directed against any individual or group.”

UMaine officials urged students and staff members working on campus to call the information technology help center at 581-2506 if they receive any additional fliers. Anyone with questions or concerns should call UMaine’s Division of Student Life at 581-1406.

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