Unfair treatment is alleged

Three members of UC Irvine’s College Republicans have filed a complaint with the campus administration, saying that officials unfairly moved their group two weeks ago to make room for a Muslim Student Union event.

In a statement filed May 22, students Reut Cohen, Brock Hill and Julian Babbitt said administrators told their club to move its booth on Ring Road during the Muslim Student Union’s “Israel: Apartheid Resurrected” event on May 17. The College Republicans, they said, had booked the spot by the administration building weeks in advance to hand out fliers and other material, but officials nevertheless ordered them to move so the Muslim student group could set up displays.

“Because they were unfairly moved and administrators wouldn’t even take a look at the paperwork showing we had reserved the space, we thought it was best to file a complaint,” Cohen said. “There was tremendous incompetence. There was literally preference shown for one group over another.”

The College Republicans’ complaint marks the latest political rift at UCI, where tensions have flared often since the beginning of the year. The Hillel Foundation of Orange County began investigating allegations of anti-Semitism in February, and former President Jimmy Carter angered many this month when he visited campus to talk about his book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” A number of Jewish student groups, as well as Newport Beach Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, denounced the Muslim Student Union for encouraging what they viewed as hate speech.

The College Republicans’ complaint targets not the Muslim group but rather two UCI administrators whom the students said pressured the group to move its display. The statement demands that the university prosecute and dismiss both administrators: Leslie Rogers, the communications director for student affairs, and an unidentified woman referred to as Jane Doe.

Rogers, who said she had no idea who Jane Doe was, said she was surprised by the allegations. She added that she had merely offered to help the College Republicans move their booth after she saw them preparing to relocate.

“We help our students when they need to move their booths or their possessions when there’s an adjustment that needs to be made on the quad,” she said. “I’ve done it before.”

The students sent copies of their statement to several UCI officials and to the Hillel Foundation of Orange County. Cohen said she had also delivered the complaint to the federal Office for Civil Rights, but a spokesman for the office could not confirm receiving it.

Cohen, who maintains a blog on what she views as anti-Semitic activity at UCI, said the College Republicans had set up a booth in part to advertise the appearance Wednesday of three reformed Islamic terrorists in the Bren Events Center. She posted images on her blog of what she said were documents proving that her group had reserved a campus spot on May 17.

Hillel Executive Director Jeffrey Rips declined to comment on the filing due to the pending investigation.

UCI spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon said the university was looking into the claims, but added that she hadn’t seen the statement herself. “Because it’s an ongoing investigation, it’s not public,” she said.