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2 KKK members banned from UofL
University says men violated rules on posting fliers, visiting campus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By MARK PITSCH
mpitsch@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
After mounting tension over leafleting by the Ku Klux Klan, University of Louisville officials have accused two KKK members of posting "insensitive and offensive" material and banned them from campus.
UofL also has removed concrete kiosks that
he KKK has used to post recruitment fliers but that also are used by students and the community.
One of the banned Klan members, Dave King, said UofL is violating his free-speech rights. He said he h
as
asked the American Civil Liberties Union to intervene and has f
iled a civil-rights complaint with the FBI.
"Essentially what this is saying is they're not going to let me on campus because they don't like what I'm saying," said King, of Crestwood. "I'm a racialist. They don't like my speech, so they're going to arrange it so that I don't have a voice. Period."
Rae Goldsmith, a university spokeswoman, said that the FBI has notified the school that the KKK has filed a complaint. UofL identified the second man banned from campus, but he could not be reached for comment.
Goldsmith said that the letter was not meant to say that the university was banning the two men for the content of their postings. Rather, she said, the lette
r was meant to notify them that they had violated university policy by placing literature on an outdoor campus map and were observed on campus at night without legitimate business at the school.
"We w
ould acknowledge that it could have been worded differently," she said.
The May12 letter from Monica M. Jones
, assistant director of student life, says: "Due to posting insensitive and offensive material on campus, this letter is to inform you that effective immediately, you are considered `persona non grata' from the entire University of Louisville campus until further notice from this office."
Jones referred questions to Goldsmith.
Goldsmith said the letter's language about insensitive and offensive material came from a university police report, which is the typical process used in sending out such letters. University policy requires noncampus groups to post fliers on outdoor concrete kiosks, she said.
King acknowledged leaving a Klan busin
ess card on the map and on some outdoor trashcans.
But he said that he and the other man were not acting suspiciously and had been told by UofL officials that they could post fliers day or ni
ght.
"
;We encountered quite a few people while we were down there," King said. "We weren't lurking around or wearing our hoods."
In December, th
e Klan demanded that UofL pay it $11,000 to speak on campus in the wake of a controversy over an October speech by Sister Souljah, an African-American activist and rapper. UofL declined. Some white students said the Souljah speech was derogatory toward whites, but some black students said the speech was empowering.
After the Klan began leaving recruitment literature on campus, students this year demanded that the university ban the group. University officials said they would not limit the Klan's ability to post fliers on kiosks or distribute literature from one of two campus "free-speech" zones. <
br>
But school officials said the Klan, like other noncampus groups, would need sponsorship from a student group in order to speak in university facilities and have a parade or hold a rally on
campus.
Beth Wils
on, executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, declined to say whether her group was assisting the Klan. But when told about the letter, she said, "It would be important that an
institution enforce its policies in a neutral way. I just have no idea whether this is happening in this case or not."
David Beyer, an FBI spokesman, would not say whether the bureau is investigating.
The letter to King notifies him that he is banned for life from all university buildings, grounds, facilities and university-sponsored events. The ban also prohibits the men from registering as students, but would not keep them out of an athletic event for which tickets are sold.
Last year, 95 people who were not university students or faculty or staff members received letters simil
ar to that received by King, according to the university. Goldsmith said the reasons included loitering and public drunkenness.
Phillip Bailey, a UofL junior from Louisville who has u
rged university officials to ban a
ll members of the Klan from campus, said banning King and the other man is "a nice first step."
"But it's still just an individual," Bailey said. "It completely ignores what the students'
demands are."
In addition instituting the ban, the university has removed all of its concrete kiosks. Student groups, some noncampus groups and some businesses used the kiosks to post fliers.
Goldsmith said the removal was triggered by the Klan's posting of fliers. But she said that the university often had received complaints that the kiosks were eyesores and contributed to litter on campus.
"It was the straw that broke the camel's back, given all the complaints we've had," she said of the Klan controversy. &
quot;It was a trigger. Again, we're not really obligated to provide space to people from off campus."
Goldsmith said that the removal of the kiosks means that no outside
groups can post announcements on campus. B
ulletin boards inside campus buildings will be reserved for postings by students and staff and faculty members, she said.
Klan members said the removal of the kiosks is a way to keep the group from posting fliers.
"They're essentially banning us from campu
s is what they're doing by tearing those down," King said.
Bailey said the removal of the kiosks was a way for the administration to respond to student concerns. But he said it also would limit communication on campus.
He called it an "appeasement-oriented move because the kiosks were an advertisement center for a great number of people besides the Klan, so it punishes the 99percent of people who use them."
Student organizations will have many fewer ways to commu
nicate with students, Bailey said.
Not all students use the university electronic network, he said, and not everyone visits the Student Activities Center.
"But ev
eryone had to walk by those kiosks," he said.
Jim Kennedy, a Klan spokesman from Valley Station, said the Klan would be back at the campus, perhaps to hold a protest.
The university allows noncampus groups to congregate in one of two "free-speech" zones.
Under new policies, five people can distribute literature and two people can speak public
ly, Goldsmith said.
Those zones will remain available for noncampus groups, including the Klan, she said, but groups must notify the school and wait at least 48 hours after that to speak or distribute literature.
2 KKK members banned from UofL
University says men violated rules on posting fliers, visiting campus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By MARK PITSCH
mpitsch@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
After mounting tension over leafleting by the Ku Klux Klan, University of Louisville officials have accused two KKK members of posting "insensitive and offensive" material and banned them from campus.
UofL also has removed concrete kiosks that
he KKK has used to post recruitment fliers but that also are used by students and the community.
One of the banned Klan members, Dave King, said UofL is violating his free-speech rights. He said he h
as
asked the American Civil Liberties Union to intervene and has f
iled a civil-rights complaint with the FBI.
"Essentially what this is saying is they're not going to let me on campus because they don't like what I'm saying," said King, of Crestwood. "I'm a racialist. They don't like my speech, so they're going to arrange it so that I don't have a voice. Period."
Rae Goldsmith, a university spokeswoman, said that the FBI has notified the school that the KKK has filed a complaint. UofL identified the second man banned from campus, but he could not be reached for comment.
Goldsmith said that the letter was not meant to say that the university was banning the two men for the content of their postings. Rather, she said, the lette
r was meant to notify them that they had violated university policy by placing literature on an outdoor campus map and were observed on campus at night without legitimate business at the school.
"We w
ould acknowledge that it could have been worded differently," she said.
The May12 letter from Monica M. Jones
, assistant director of student life, says: "Due to posting insensitive and offensive material on campus, this letter is to inform you that effective immediately, you are considered `persona non grata' from the entire University of Louisville campus until further notice from this office."
Jones referred questions to Goldsmith.
Goldsmith said the letter's language about insensitive and offensive material came from a university police report, which is the typical process used in sending out such letters. University policy requires noncampus groups to post fliers on outdoor concrete kiosks, she said.
King acknowledged leaving a Klan busin
ess card on the map and on some outdoor trashcans.
But he said that he and the other man were not acting suspiciously and had been told by UofL officials that they could post fliers day or ni
ght.
"
;We encountered quite a few people while we were down there," King said. "We weren't lurking around or wearing our hoods."
In December, th
e Klan demanded that UofL pay it $11,000 to speak on campus in the wake of a controversy over an October speech by Sister Souljah, an African-American activist and rapper. UofL declined. Some white students said the Souljah speech was derogatory toward whites, but some black students said the speech was empowering.
After the Klan began leaving recruitment literature on campus, students this year demanded that the university ban the group. University officials said they would not limit the Klan's ability to post fliers on kiosks or distribute literature from one of two campus "free-speech" zones. <
br>
But school officials said the Klan, like other noncampus groups, would need sponsorship from a student group in order to speak in university facilities and have a parade or hold a rally on
campus.
Beth Wils
on, executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, declined to say whether her group was assisting the Klan. But when told about the letter, she said, "It would be important that an
institution enforce its policies in a neutral way. I just have no idea whether this is happening in this case or not."
David Beyer, an FBI spokesman, would not say whether the bureau is investigating.
The letter to King notifies him that he is banned for life from all university buildings, grounds, facilities and university-sponsored events. The ban also prohibits the men from registering as students, but would not keep them out of an athletic event for which tickets are sold.
Last year, 95 people who were not university students or faculty or staff members received letters simil
ar to that received by King, according to the university. Goldsmith said the reasons included loitering and public drunkenness.
Phillip Bailey, a UofL junior from Louisville who has u
rged university officials to ban a
ll members of the Klan from campus, said banning King and the other man is "a nice first step."
"But it's still just an individual," Bailey said. "It completely ignores what the students'
demands are."
In addition instituting the ban, the university has removed all of its concrete kiosks. Student groups, some noncampus groups and some businesses used the kiosks to post fliers.
Goldsmith said the removal was triggered by the Klan's posting of fliers. But she said that the university often had received complaints that the kiosks were eyesores and contributed to litter on campus.
"It was the straw that broke the camel's back, given all the complaints we've had," she said of the Klan controversy. &
quot;It was a trigger. Again, we're not really obligated to provide space to people from off campus."
Goldsmith said that the removal of the kiosks means that no outside
groups can post announcements on campus. B
ulletin boards inside campus buildings will be reserved for postings by students and staff and faculty members, she said.
Klan members said the removal of the kiosks is a way to keep the group from posting fliers.
"They're essentially banning us from campu
s is what they're doing by tearing those down," King said.
Bailey said the removal of the kiosks was a way for the administration to respond to student concerns. But he said it also would limit communication on campus.
He called it an "appeasement-oriented move because the kiosks were an advertisement center for a great number of people besides the Klan, so it punishes the 99percent of people who use them."
Student organizations will have many fewer ways to commu
nicate with students, Bailey said.
Not all students use the university electronic network, he said, and not everyone visits the Student Activities Center.
"But ev
eryone had to walk by those kiosks," he said.
Jim Kennedy, a Klan spokesman from Valley Station, said the Klan would be back at the campus, perhaps to hold a protest.
The university allows noncampus groups to congregate in one of two "free-speech" zones.
Under new policies, five people can distribute literature and two people can speak public
ly, Goldsmith said.
Those zones will remain available for noncampus groups, including the Klan, she said, but groups must notify the school and wait at least 48 hours after that to speak or distribute literature.