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| MO Green Party Seeks Apology from College. |
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GREEN PARTY SEEKS APOLOGY FROM COLLEGE Green Party of St. Louis Greens Call for Officer's Dismissal The Green Party of St. Louis has joined the LEADERS OF the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression, the St. Louis Bill of Rights Defense Committee, and the Coalition Against Public Funding for Stadiums in criticizing the behavior of a Forest Park Community College Police Officer Dixon, who ejected Dave Sladky from campus on April 13, 2003 during a talk by Ralph Nader. The Green Party has called for Officer Dixon to be dismissed and for Forest Park Community College to apologize and recognize the right to free speech on campus. Officer Dixon's stated reason for his action was that Sladky was seeking signatures on a petition for a ballot item. The Green Party says that this is unconstitutional and a violation of the Community College's own policy. The ballot item would prevent county funds from going towards a new baseball stadium. Since several organizations were collecting names of interested people at the same time Sladky was, the action of Officer Dixon was a more blatant violation. A statement by Sladky is included below. Also included is the College's policy on speech, which shows that Sladky was acting within its bounds. Carl Stelzer saw what Officer Dixon was doing, identified himself as a reporter, and asked why Sladky was being ejected. At that point, an already rude officer in violation of principles of petition, speech, and assembly revealed himself to be abusive and not worthy of the trust that is placed in campus security officers. He used offensive language and shoved the reporter, urged both of them to defy him, and showed his handcuffs. Carl Stelzer's statement is also included below. Stelzer recorded the conversation, showing that Officer Dixon was way out of bounds. Two witnesses have since come forward. If Dixon acted this way once for no reason, the Green Party believes that he is a security threat to students on campus. Since the event, Chief Richard Banahan has given no indication that Dixon will be disciplined in any way. He has also shown that he does not understand the College's own policy. Banahan had said that the College has no policy against, but "discourages" petitioning. The policy, which is enclosed states that "Expressive activity may occur during regular campus hours and/or during the hours in which an event, activity, or class is being conducted." According to Jason Murphy, a recent candidate of the Green Party of St. Louis, "Too many people view petitioning as something like panhandling when it is an essential component of democracy here in Missouri. Singling out Dave Sladky, who wasn't chasing anyone but simply offering them a chance to sign if they wished, reveals a contempt for democracy." Dave Sladky, a co-coordinator of the Green Party of St. Louis observed: "There were other groups getting names. Why I was singled out I can only guess. It may have been my Green Party shirt. Or was it the content of my petition?" Chief Banahan recently stated that it was the Friends of the St. Louis Public Library that asked campus security to selectively eject Sladky. Additional Documents:
From: leonard robertson <stlbordc@yahoo.com
To: hshannon@slcc.edu CC: 1. What is your policy concerning petitioning or advocating on University property during public events? 2. If there is a strict policy against any and all petitioning would you please provide the law, ordinance, or rule under which your police officer expelled Mr. Sladky? 3. If there is a strict policy would you explain why Mr. Nader's people were allowed to be in the lobby and solicit names as well as members of the I.M.C. and representatives of Presidential candidate Dean. Witnesses have confirmed that several groups were active in petitioning and advocating without interference from campus police. Could you please explain why Mr. Sladky was singled out. Further please address the violence perpetrated upon Mr. Stelzer who verbally and respectfully came to the defense of Mr. Sladky. Sincerely, The ad hoc group Sladky is associated with is seeking voter approval on whether St. Louis County should loan the St. Louis Cardinal owners $40 million to help build the proposed new baseball stadium downtown. The group is headed by retired St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Fred Lindecke. As a reporter for the online magazine Blue Green Earth talked with Sladky in the hallway of the college auditorium, the officer interrupted the conversation and demanded the activist leave. Inside the theater, consumer advocate and former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader was still taking questions from the audience of several hundred people. The St. Louis Public Library sponsored Nader's appearance as a part of its lecture series, which is supported by The Friends of the St. Louis Library, a volunteer organization that supports the institution. When the reporter, who witnessed the incident, attempted to question why Sladky was being ejected from a public institution supported by St. Louis area taxpayers, the officer became irate, used abusive language and physically assaulted the reporter as he left the building as ordered. A number of other advocacy groups, which were also soliciting names at the gathering, did not receive the same treatment. The groups included Nader's own organization, supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont, and members of the St. Louis Indy Media collective were not ejected from the premises. The college routinely allows both governmental and private representatives to solicit students at the college. The military, for instance, is allowed to recruit students on campus. Credit card companies such as MasterCard and Visa are permitted to solicit on campus. Major franchises such as Starbuck's and Coca-Cola are granted permission to sell their products at the St. Louis Community Colleges. The extraordinary privileges granted these private interests to operate unimpeded in the public domain was ironically one of the themes of Nader's speech, as was the need for increased participation in the democratic process. \ When asked on Monday whether Forest Park Community College has a policy against permitting petition drives, Richard Banahan, the campus police chief said there is no set policy prohibiting such political activities, but the college administration does not encourage it. Sladky, who had brought a friend's adolescent daughter to hear Nader, was forcibly ejected from the building before he could ask the officer if he could find the girl so he could take her home. At the time that the officer approached him, Sladky was not engaged in soliciting signatures and was chatting with the reporter. No reason has been given by the campus police as to why the Stop Ball Pork activist had been targeted for removal. --------------------------------------------------------------- I am an alumni of St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, majoring in political science at the school from 1969-1971. I returned to Forest Park many years later to take a journalism class, and have since come back to the school to lecture journalism classes at the request of Katherine Dunlop, the head of the Communications Department. I am a former reporter for the Riverfont Times. I am a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Writers Union, Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Missouri Press Association. On Sunday, April 13, as a member of the press, I attended a lecture by Ralph Nader at the Mildred Bastion Center for Performing Arts on the Forest Park campus. As I left the lecture (while Mr. Nader was still taking questions from the audience), I ran into a friend of mine and began chatting with him. We had only been conversing for moments, when campus police officer Dixon approached us and summarily ordered my friend to leave the college property immediately. He told my friend that he was trespassing, and subject to arrest because he was asking for signatures for a petition drive, as audience members left the building. To put this in proper perspective, the officer was uncivil, abrupt, and lacked courtesy or any kind of decorum. At this point, I questioned whether my friend had the right to be on the public institution's property to engage in his constitutional rights under the First Amendment. Of course, because of the officer's brusk manner, it was impossible to engage him in any kind of in-depth or meaningful dialouge. I did manage to say that the taxpayers of the Community College District pay for the school. My friend, who was being run off of the campus property, is a property owner in St. Louis County and pays taxes to the district. The officer did not allow my friend to explain to him that he had an adolescent in his custody who was still in the auditorium. Nonetheless, he complied with the order to leave the premises, as did I. We were both escorted from the property by the officer. Outside of the building, when I turned to ask the officer his name, he became more irate, verbally abusive and began shoving me. Since the incident, I have had two lengthy telephone discussions with Forest Park Community College Police Chief Richard Banahan. Over the course of the two telephone conversations, Chief Banahan has waffled over the college policy regarding solciting signatures for ballot inititives. In our first conversation, he said that the college did not have a set policy, but discouraged such activities. In our second conservation, Chief Banahan said that the college district does have a guideline that prohibits such activity. If such a policy does exist, it may or may not be deemed in violation of the United States Constitution. But one thing is clear about this particular case: the campus police officer selectively enforced the guideline. In short, the policy, if one exists, was administered in a discriminatory fashion. Other groups, including the Nader organization, were allowed to sign up members and engage in political activity on campus. Memberships were also solicited by the co-sponsor of the event, The Friends of the St. Louis Public Library, a charitable organization. In my friend's case, he was collecting signatures for the Coalition Against Public Funding of Stadiums, also known as, Stop Ball Pork. The group is led by retired St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Fred Lindecke. In my subsequent conversations with Chief Banahan, he told me that my friend was kicked off the campus at the request of the co-sponsor of the lecture, The Friends of the St. Louis Public Library. Chief Banahan has given no indication that Officer Dixon, who assaulted me, will be disiplined for his inappropiate and wrongful behavior. In a news brief, that appeared on page B2 of the April 17th edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, college spokesperson Claudia Perry, inaccurately told the newspaper that I was the one who had been "verbally abusive." I can only assume she received this information through Chief Banahan or Officer Dixon. Since I had attended the Rader lecture as a member of press, I had my tape recorder in my hand, when the incident occurred. The recording of the incident clearly shows that the officer was "verbally abusive" not the other way around. Aside from that, my friend witnessed the assault. Given the unprecedented autonomy given the Forest Park Community College campus law enforcement agency within the city of St. Louis, it is difficult, if not impossible, for this matter to receive a fair or impartial internal review. The larger issue is why an activist representing the Coalition Against Public Funding for Stadiums was singled out and expelled from college property, when others groups and individuals were allowed to participate in the same activities unimpeded. I am asking you to assess both the officer's behavior in this incident, the inaccurate information released to the media by Ms. Perry, and the discriminatory enforcement of the alleged policy that gives the campus police authority to selectively remove individuals or groups from a public institution, during a public forum, when they are engaged in constitutionally protected activities. Sincerely, C.D. Stelzer Carl Stelzer came to my aid. He stated to the cop that this was a publicly funded campus and we had a right to be there. Carl also identified himself as a reporter and that he was doing a story about the lecture. The officer then shoved Carl at least 3 times and started calling Carl "you piece of ...." He repeated this more than once. He told Carl twice that he was under arrest. Today Carl spoke with the head of campus security and was told that Forest Park C.C. didn't have a specific policy against solicitation, but they tried to discourage it. There were other groups getting names. Both the Friends of the St. Louis Public Library, and Ralph Nader's people were getting info. from attendies. There also were people from the IMC and Gov. Dean from Vermont for Pres. handing out literature. Why I was singled out I can only guess. Was it my GREEN PARTY shirt, or was it the content of my petition??? The "Friends" ARE connected with the St. Louis Cardinals, and indirectly with Mayor Slay. This isn't over, and ifanybody wants to get on board please contact Stop ballpork, or me. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ·Expressive activity may be conducted at all College sites so long as the activity will not materially disrupt the educational mission of the College, cause substantial disorder or invade the rights of others. ·A group engaging in expressive activity should identify a spokesperson for communication purposes. ·Expressive activity may occur during regular campus hours and/or during the hours in which an event, activity, or class is being conducted. ·Expressive activity may occur near events taking place on College property, so long as walkways and passages are kept clear so as not to obstruct passage. ·Persons involved in an expressive activity may be shown to an area near the event in which to conduct their activity. ·Persons involved in expressive activity should limit the sound level of the activity so as not to materially disrupt College classes or other activities taking place nearby. ·Disruptive expressive activity should not be conducted in or near classrooms. If the above guidelines are not followed, the
College will take appropriate measures to ensure that the
educational mission of the College is not disrupted. |
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