the white student union (wsu) was an unaffiliated organization founded in towson, maryland by matthew heimbach, who is a former member of youth for western civilization and considered by many to be the face of a new generation of white nationalists. the group advocates for what it sees as the interests of "persons of european heritage". it has been listed as a hate group by the southern poverty law center and the anti-defamation league. the organization rejects this label, stating in a blog post that "we do not hate any other race and we do not wish anyone harm". in may 2013 heimbach said that the group would merge with the traditionalist youth network which heimbach described as an effort to build "a wide coalition of kinist, social conservatives, traditionalist christians, believers in right-wing politics, and other factions of the pro-white movement."