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clem • conunucDPRomi donated, The Observer felt it was necessary to suspend further operations while the odds wjere still fair,” The Observer said. After an altercation with a Clemson graduate assistant Monday and students entering the drawing in protest up to 150 times, The Observer closed the drawing to donations for people seeking more tickets. Davis, said these tactics amount to sabotage and called the opposition “terrorists.” “They’re trying to ruin it for everyone,” Davis said. “They’re' taking away from the people who want to legitimately win this weapon.” Graduate assistant Sam Rankin brought his English students to view the two opposing sides Monday. When one student was asked who told hfef to enter for free, the student indicated Rankin. Davis and Rankin then began a verbal altercation on the Cooper Library Bridge. Andrew Davis, editor of The Observer, said Rankin’s action, which he alleges amounts to coercion of students for grades, is “indirectly pressuring students to push a political agenda.” Rankin said he brought his students to the bridge to see rhetoric firsthand, not to pressure them. “My English students game out here to talk about rhetoric and how it is interesting in a situation like this,” Rankin said. “I actually feel like a chump for yelling back at Davis.” Some English professors are helping the opposition movement out of concern for their students and outside of class requirements. Davis said their actions are part of a faculty conspiracy to stop the drawing and said professors are exploiting their students. “If we’re going to let professors use their class as a podium, they will be exposed to the national media,” Davis said. Professor John Longo said he was' unaware of a conspiracy and was concerned for his students. “To the best of my knowledge there is no faculty conspiracy,” Longo said. “I’m out here supporting my students and because of what I saw yesterday I want to prevent my students from getting bullied or intimidated.” When Kelton Banks, a first-year marketing student from Longo’s class, was questioned why the students participated in the opposition movement, he said that while they are getting class credit, their instructor made it clear that they did not have to participate. According to an e mail exchanged among English department faculty members, Longo invited faculty and students to participate in the opposition movement. “We’re encouraging people to enter this way and if they win, donate the weapon to the class, who will then either have the weapon melted down, or donate it to the Clemson Police Department,” Longo said. In response, American literature professor Mark Winchell said individual involvement should be the limit of the protest. “If Mr. Longo and the members of his class want to do this as individuals, that it is fine,” Winchell said. “For him to abuse his position as a teacher to advance any political agenda is both unethical and unprofessional.” Clemson University spokesperson Robin Denny said the university disagrees with The Observer’s drawing. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm. sc. edu dccs • conTinucDFRomi than protest. “I thought it would be interesting,” Whitfield said. “Civil rights is a topic I am - interested'in.” August Kreis, the new head of the Aryan Nation, was in attendance and sat in one of the first rows of the auditorium. The Aryan Nation lost a $6.3 million lawsuit — argued by Dees — that drove the group into bankruptcy in 2000. “There are some here who I certainly did not invite,” Dees said. “August Kreis, who is head of the Aryan Nation, or what’s left of it. The First Amendment protects his right to pass out whatever he may print, but take that with a large grain of salt.” Kreis’ flyers condemned Dees and said, “Of all the damning indictments against Morris Dees, the worst comes from his closest connection. “He was sued by his ex wife, Maurene Bass Dees, who alleged that he had committed incest with his stepdaughter and future daughter-in-law. ” The fliers also said that the SPLC is “a for-profit venture, wildly successful at its true objective, which is to acquire wealth and income for Morris Dees.” Dees said he is unfazed by such propaganda, and the time and energy spent fighting it would be pointless. “I don’t let it bother me at all,” Dees said. “If you check the facts, you find that it’s not true anyways. I could take them to court and prove it false, but what good would it do?” Kaitlin Simonetti, a first year hotel restaurant and tourism management student, objected to the deceptive nature of the fliers. “Iwas taken aback that the protest group used Carolina Productions as a means of distributing their fliers,” Simonetti said. After addressing the opposing factions, Dees addressed the continuing change occurring in the civil rights movement and the fight for equality. “I think Dr. King would be tremendously pleased with the progress we have made as a nation,” Dees said. “I guess you might say that as we celebrate the work of past civil rights activists, we are still fighting new challenges.” Dees cited engrained racial bias as a barrier to equality. He noted a study at the University of Illinois in which researchers filled out 5,000 job applications from various classified ads. On half the applications, a female Anglican name, Elizabeth, was used while on the other half a typical black name, Laquesha, was used. Barring the name, the applications were identical. “Laquesha” got 50 percent less follow up calls for interviews than “Elizabeth” did. “That’s shutting the gate for the Laqueshas who want to buy a new home or a nicer automobile,” Dees said. “It’s a burden that people in this nation should not have to bear.” Dees continued to elaborate on various hate groups such as the Aryan Nation that use terror tact ics to attempt to control and oppress minority groups. In one case, Dees represented Vietnamese fishermen on the Gulf Coast who were being intimidated to give up their trade by the Ku Klux Klan. “It was Sunday afternoon, we were about to go to court on Monday, and I got a call from one of the fishermen asking to drop the lawsuit,” Dees said. The fishermen were scared by burning crosses they had seen and threats that they would be “blown out of the water” if they put their boats out on the first day of shrimping season. Dees met with the leaders of the fisherman and convinced them mat if they were to give in to threats now, the threats would only follow them to their next trade. “America is a nation of laws,” Dees said. “There will be new people who come and the laws protect them. Later that night, I got a call saying to continue the lawsuit.” The SPLC won the suit and an injunction was issued against the KKK. The abundance of hate groups is an issue Dees is concerned about, but he noted the importance of standing against hate crimes. “There are over 800 hate groups operating in the country today, and over 600 hate sites on the Internet, literally one click away from any child,” Dees said. “People in this country are saying people who commit these crimes don’t represent us.” Morris concluded his speech by placing prejudice into perspective, particularly for students. “When it’s all said and done, especially for you students, it’s about justice and fairness,” Dees said. “You are here so you will be able to get a good job and provide for your family, but you are the fortunate ones. The real achievement you will feel when the curtain shuts is how you treated people who weren’t as fortunate as you.” The floor was opened to questions, and Dees was questioned about the “D” rating the SPLC earned on a non-profit watchdog report, as purported in the handouts many received. “There isn’t a lot of truth in it if you check the facts on that; it is mostly propaganda,” Dees said. “However, we don’t do well on some of those evaluations based on the way we are graded. We have a budget of $30 million and an endowment of $200 million. We provide over $9 million for tolerance education and should be graded more on the level of a university in many circumstances.” In the end, Simonetti said she enjoyed the speech despite the protests. “I was very impressed,” she said. “I didn’t expect it to be this controversial, though.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gum.sc. edu Inter^stediin more informationonfthe best Contact Timfittlsen a, (901) 333-2770 Achleve^^^^^^integrity | II