Correction (April 26 12: 16 a.m.): Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the charges were dropped against senior Haley Koch following last year’s protest at Tom Tancredo’s speech. The charges were dismissed. The story has been changed to reflect the correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the errors.
Due to a reporting error, “ASG to elect certain 2010-11 officers at weekend meeting” incorrectly stated that UNC student Dakota Williams was chief financial officer of the Association of Student Governments. He stepped down from that position in December.
The last time UNC students gathered to protest the arrival of former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a window was broken and a student was arrested.
And Wednesday, protesters promised that the second visit on Monday by Tancredo, an outspoken opponent of undocumented immigration, will not go unnoticed. The University has created guidelines to warn against a disruption.
“Because we have done it before — in the halls, in the auditoriums and in the courts — we will defeat them again,” said senior Haley Koch, who was arrested after last year’s protest. Her charges were later dismissed.
ATTEND THE SPEECH
Time: 7 p.m. Monday
Location: Student Union Auditorium
Eleven students, including Koch, gathered Wednesday in the Pit to speak out against Tancredo’s return and signal their intent to disrupt his speech once again.
Tancredo, whose speech was sponsored by the campus group Youth for Western Civilization, ended last year’s talk after only five minutes when a window was broken. Protesters stood up and held a banner in front of him before the situation escalated.
In October, Chancellor Holden Thorp funded another YWC speaker, former Rep. Virgil Goode, as reimbursement for Tancredo’s shortened talk.
The students used megaphones and signs Wednesday to communicate their displeasure with Tancredo, who recently called for President Barack Obama to “return to Kenya.”
“Tom Tancredo is not welcome on our campus,” said sophomore Ana Maria Reichenbach, one of the speakers at the event.
But Daryl Ann Dunigan, YWC president, said Tancredo is not an offensive choice.
“He definitely is not a racist or Nazi,” Dunigan said. “His policies on immigration are not based on the color of someone’s skin, but more on the fact that we have laws in this country.”
Randy Young, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said there will be a police presence at the event but did not provide details.
Students will not be allowed to bring bags into the event, and guidelines provided by the Office of the Dean of Students state that students who attempt to disrupt the event will be warned, removed and possibly arrested on a second offense.
Students will be allowed to bring in certain types of signs and banners, though they will have to stand in designated locations and not interfere with the speech.
“The University has put things in place to make sure that if you want to protest, your protesting isn’t infringing on somebody’s speech,” Dunigan said.
While Dunigan acknowledged the security measures in place, she expects student opinions to differ.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
