Literature not affiliated with Boston University is easy to find in on-campus residences. Fliers for off-campus apartments, menus for new restaurants and laminated advertisements for clubs downtown are shoved under students’ doors or dumped in their vestibules on a daily basis.

“We don’t allow anyone permission to just come in and drop off literature,” BU spokesman Colin Riley said. “You can’t just do this willy-nilly.”

However, non-BU-affiliated groups often drop flyers faster than the facilities management staff can pick them up. Some South Campus residents what they considered offensive fliers in their vestibules Jan. 25 from a group called National Vanguard.

One of the fliers described the group as “an intelligent and responsible organization that stands up for the interests of White people.”

“A number of students saw this when they came home that night, collected it, brought it to the South Campus Residence Office and said, ‘What is this?'” Residence Life Director David Zamojski said.

Both Zamojski and Riley said they do not think a BU student was responsible for the literature. However, if it were, that student would be in violation of the Student Responsibility Code.

Zamojski said although these incidents rarely occur, he “thought the community needed to be informed.” The next day, he issued a letter to all South Campus residents explaining the literature and what students should do if this happens again.

“It’s a reminder that every one of us has a responsibility to protect this community that we share,” he said.

Despite BU’s stated policy that reminds students to forbid strangers from entering residences, College of Arts and Sciences senior Tim Yang said he sometimes lets people he does not know into his South Campus Residence.

“Everybody does it,” he said. “That’s all.”

Riley said the real issue with the flyers was not about people’s actual safety – the flier distributors did not make it past the vestibule door – but more with “feelings of safety.” However, most South Campus residents said they did not feel their safety was compromised in any way.

“Well, [the flier distributors only got through] the first door, so it doesn’t really bother me,” Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior Flo Guerrier said. “As long as they don’t leave the second door open.”

College of General Studies sophomore Ryan Meehan said although he did not personally see the literature from National Vanguard, his roommate did.

“If there was a real sketch-ball trying to get in, I think people would hesitate,” the South Campus resident said.

“I was actually very happy that BU was so considerate and actually told all of us that they were doing something to prevent it, because that was really disturbing,” he said.

College of Communication junior Josh Baker said while he was not worried about strangers gaining access to his residence, it is still possible for it to happen.

“I guess you can never be completely safe anywhere,” he said. “[South campus] is a pretty nice area. I think it’s more secure than they make it out to be. Maybe you don’t see all the security, but it’s there. At least, that’s what I like to think.”

Riley said while BU has no control over literature distributed on the public walkways, the campus starts once “you step off the sidewalk.”

University Professors Program sophomore Rachel Stein said she has just as much security in her South Campus residence as she does at her apartment in New York, and usually is not bothered by non-BU affiliated literature.

“That’s not something I’d like to be reading,” she said, “but it’s freedom of speech and all that.”

Riley said other universities are not even allowed to advertise lectures or other events without permission from BU.

Although more fliers were found in a few houses on Beacon Street early last week, students say they have not been affected in a negative way by it.

“I think the security can be improved, but I don’t see a direct need for it,” Meehan said. “I mean, the whole point of living on South Campus is to sort of be away from all that and get that feeling of living on your own.”