Another case of an anonymous offensive mailing was discovered yesterday afternoon in the Hinman Box of the Students for a Free Tibet organization. The anti-Buddhist pamphlet was designed in the same, cartoon strip-style as the other mailings sent earlier this term and depicted a philanthropic Buddhist tycoon sent to hell for not believing in Jesus.
Notable campus figures in the Jewish and gay community as well as three Tucker Foundation administrators received similar hate mailings considered offensive to members of those groups two weeks ago.
While SFT Treasurer Casey Noga '00 found the anti-Buddhist pamphlet yesterday, he told The Dartmouth the group's Hinman Box had not been checked since last year, meaning this pamphlet could have been sent at the same time as the others.
The pamphlet states that "all who reject God's love gift will burn forever in the lake of fire ... Buddha didn't die for your sins. Neither did: The Virgin Mary, Allah (the moon god), Confucious, or any other false god. Only the Lord Jesus Christ shed his precious blood to wash away our sins."
Like the pamphlets reported earlier, the anti-Buddhist mailing did not contain any U.S. postage, leading to speculation the pamphlets were mailed on campus through Hinman Mail.
The return address on the envelope was "Crusade for Christ HB 5072," the same as the anti-Jewish and anti-gay pamphlets. Campus Crusade for Christ Student Director Owen Fletcher '00 has denied all involvement in the mailings.
Also written on the envelope, but crossed out was another students' HB number. The student told The Dartmouth he knows nothing about the mailing.
Similar to the other pamphlets, it was published by Chick Publications in California, and the e-mail address godlovesdartmuth@hotmail.com (sic) was written on the back.
"I thought it's kind of amusing that we got it," Noga said. "It's misdirected. Obviously they think our group is a Buddhist group but in fact it's more about cultural prevention than anything else."
SFT President Nima Taylor '00 told The Dartmouth "the people who did this are obviously totally ignorant of our organization's purpose, since we're not a religious group. We support the human rights, cultural survival and self-determination of the Tibetan people."
At least one other person also reported receiving a more innocuous Christian proselytization pamphlet from the same anonymous sender.
Acting Dean of the College Dan Nelson launched an investigation into the matter after The Dartmouth reported the first mailing. Nelson said the investigation will focus on the misrepresentation of the CCC. The mailings' content, he said, is not punishable under College policy, which protects almost all speech.
