University denies request for Obama visit

After learning that Washington University recently missed out on an opportunity to host a visit by presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., students are expressing frustration with the University policy that prohibited the event, which would have taken place this Saturday.

Last week, the Washington University chapter of Students for Barack Obama learned that Obama was planning to make an appearance in St. Louis on Feb. 2 and that the campaign was considering the University as a possible location for an event. Three students in the organization then met with Vice Chancellor for Governmental and Community Relations Pam Lokken to request permission to have Obama speak on campus in the Athletic Complex.

"The Vice Chancellor told us that because the University could not offer the same opportunity to every candidate and because of tax concerns, the University could not host Obama," said senior Ben Kastan, one of the students involved in making the request.

According to the IRS Web site, under current tax code the University would need to provide "equal opportunity to the political candidates seeking the same office," could not "indicate any support of or opposition to the candidate" and could not allow any political fundraising at the event.

"In order to open our doors to one candidate, we are obligated to open our doors to all candidates," said Rob Wild, assistant to the chancellor. "In order to minimize disruptions, the University has made the decision [not to invite any candidates]."

Some students were skeptical about the University's justification in the tax code.

"From what I've read, I don't see any general restriction that prevents a private university from allowing a candidate to speak," said sophomore Jake Laperruque, another student involved in the appeal. "Many public and private universities have hosted candidates in the last year."

Among the many private universities that have hosted presidential candidates and have not lost their tax-exempt status are Brown University, Wellesley College and Boston University.

"[Those universities] are willing to open their doors to any candidate when they request it," said Wild. "We encourage other means of political involvement than inviting candidates."

After the initial request was turned down, the students sent a second request directly to Chancellor Mark Wrighton, with similar results.

"The e-mail response cited concern over overall fairness and logistical issues in allowing a candidate to speak on campus, but also nervousness about any perceived favor prior to the vice presidential debates that Wash. U. will be hosting," said Kastan.

"Because the University cannot equitably accommodate all such requests for the use of its facilities for candidate campaign rallies without disrupting academic and extracurricular operations, the University has decided that it cannot sponsor these types of events," wrote Wild in an e-mail to Student Life. "To make an exception for one or two campaigns would be to give the appearance of favoritism or partisanship, especially given the literally dozens of declared candidates currently seeking the nomination by several political parties."

This is not the first time that the University has refused to allow political candidates to speak on campus. One prominent example was in 2004 when students unsuccessfully pushed to get approval for Democratic candidate and current Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to speak at the University.

Former President of the College Democrats Aaron Keyak, a 2007 alumnus said that this decision is a testament to the University's failure to foster an environment for healthy political discourse.

"[Wash. U.] encourages open discourse when it comes to educational matters, but not when it comes to political issues," said Keyak.

Keyak cites his failed effort to get the administration's approval to host the National Convention for College Democrats in 2006, which instead was hosted by St. Louis University.

An official petition to bring Barack Obama to St. Louis has been created on Facebook by senior Matt Adler. As of the print deadline, over 1,000 students have joined the petition group.

"The idea behind the petition is much broader that just Barack Obama," said Adler. "It is about informing students that a great opportunity has been lost."

Adler hopes that the event will help facilitate student contact with the administration about the decision.

Currently, there is a mixture of anger and frustration among students on campus.

"I understand there are logistical hurdles and concerns about neutrality," said Student Union President Neil Patel. "But at the same time, I was disappointed when I heard the decision. Hosting Barack Obama could have been a great opportunity for both the school and the students."

-With additional reporting by John Scott