Senator challenges A.S. funding policy

The Associated Students Inc., now A.S. Sen. Steven Negley's only target in the ongoing case involving Khallid Abdul Muhammad's Nov. 19 speech, is being asked to change the way it uses mandatory student fees to fund speeches.

Muhammad is the former aide to Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan. His on-campus speech, which was part of the Black Consciousness Conference, is considered by the two CSULB's case plaintiffs to violate the Smith vs. UC Board of Regents case ruling.

The Black Student Union and The Black Cultural Programming Committee are no longer defendants in the CSULB case, Negley and Thinn vs. A.S.I.

Negley and Cal State Long Beach student Joseph Thinn dropped charges against the committee for the misuse of mandatory student funds on March 13, the same day the CSULB A.S. Judiciary announced that it dismissed BSU as a defendant because the A.S.I. granted the funds to the committee.

The reason Negley and Thinn dropped the charges against the committee, Negley said, was that the judiciary said that the case of Smith vs. UC Board of Regents would probably apply only to the provider of funds, the A.S.I., and not the committee, which received funds.

The ruling of Smith vs. UC Board of Regents states mandatory student fees cannot be used to support activities or student organizations with focuses that advance political or ideological interests.

"By pursuing the BCPC and the BSU, I would not have achieved the goal I want," Negley said, which is to change the A.S.I. policy. Pursuing the A.S.I. and convincing the judiciary to rule against it for violating Smith vs. UC Board of Regents would achieve that goal.

"What it basically boils down to is that the policy is wrong," Negley said. "It is meddled and there is no real set policy."

A.S.I. does not enforce Smith vs. UC Board of Regents, nor does it want to decide who is chosen to speak on campus, Negley said.

"I don't care if it's David Duke, Khallid Muhammad or any other hate speaker that comes up here and does a speech, it's wrong," Negley said. "It's ideological, and it's wrong."

Allison Swinson, A.S. treasurer, said that the A.S.I. observes the case of Smith vs. UC Board of Regents and the required guidelines for allowing speakers to give speeches on campus.

The guidelines are to advertise, provide adequate security, have a question-and-answer session, and to obtain approval by a director of Student Life and Development.