CSUN NEARS BOIL OVER DUKE VISIT : RECALL DRIVE THREATENED AGAINST STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT.Byline: Steven J. Gorman Daily News Staff Writer Tension mounted at Cal State Northridge on Tuesday as the school braced for a controversial debate today pitting former Klansman David Duke David Ernest Duke is a former Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, a candidate in presidential primaries for both the Democratic and Republican parties, and former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. against civil rights activist Joe Hicks on the issue of affirmative action affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. . The controversy came to a head at a Student Senate meeting as members of the Cal State Northridge chapter of the College Republicans threatened to initiate a recall drive against student body President Vladimir Cerna unless he resigned by next week. Accusing Cerna of misconduct for his role in bringing Duke to campus, College Republicans President Rod Perry and said his group had collected more than the roughly 2,500 signatures needed to launch a recall vote by students. Cerna, who cast the tie-breaking vote in the Student Senate on Sept. 3 to pay Duke $4,000 for his appearance, said he had no plans to step down. ``That would be too easy,'' Cerna said. ``If they're trying to intimidate me, it's not going to work.'' Earlier in the day, a brief shouting match erupted in front of the Student Union building between CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge students and a small group of activists from the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay who were announcing plans to disrupt Duke's appearance. Meanwhile, a judge Tuesday rejected a second bid to block the Associated Students at Cal State Northridge from paying Duke for his appearance. Superior Court Judge William MacLaughlin said there is insufficient evidence insufficient evidence n. a finding (decision) by a trial judge or an appeals court that the prosecution in a criminal case or a plaintiff in a lawsuit has not proved the case because the attorney did not present enough convincing evidence. to support student Kelly S. Novak's claim that public money is being illegally spent to help oppose Proposition 209. MacLaughlin rejected a similar request Monday. Some of the harshest criticism of Duke's appearance has come from supporters of Proposition 209, the Nov. 5 California ballot initiative that would end racial and gender preferences in state and local government. Backers of the measure contend that Duke was invited to oppose affirmative action at today's debate as a ploy to discredit the initiative through association with his extremist views. Duke, a former Louisiana state legislator who just lost his second bid for the U.S. Senate on Saturday, has disavowed his past ties to the Ku Klux Klan Ku Klux Klan (k  ' klŭks klăn), designation mainly given to two distinct secret societies that played a part in American history, although other less important groups have also used but continues to espouse racial separatism and white supremacy. While some object to Duke's appearance because they see it as an affront to minorities, women and gays, leaders of many minority groups on campus, including the Black Student Union, have strongly supported Cerna's plans to include Duke in the debate. They were quick to rally to Cerna's defense. ``We voted you in for a reason. Stick with what you're doing and don't be bullied,'' declared Harold Caldwell, president of the American Indian Student Association. Shortly before Tuesday's Student Senate meeting, about eight members of the Bay Area group called the Coalition to Defense Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary By any means necessary is a translation of a phrase coined by the French intellectual Jean Paul Sartre in his play Dirty Hands. I was not the one to invent lies: they were created in a society divided by class and each of us inherited lies when we were born. (BAMN BAMN By Any Means Necessary. ), held a news conference vowing to try to block Duke's appearance. The Northern California activists said the debate was a misguided event that would give Duke a platform to espouse his views. They were confronted by angry CSUN students who branded them as uninvited un·in·vit·ed adj. Not welcome or wanted: uninvited guests. uninvited Adjective not having been asked: uninvited guests interlopers INTERLOPERS. Persons who interrupt the trade of a company of merchants, by pursuing the same business with them in the same place, without lawful authority. . ``This is Cal State Northridge,'' said Marlon Barbarin, 24, a sophomore political science major. ``It's pretty much up to the students here whether we want to have (Duke) or not.'' Student Sen. Marc Powell, who voted against Duke's appearance, has organized a separate demonstration at the Oviatt Library - scheduled to start at 1 p.m. today - to provide a venue for CSUN students opposed to Duke. A special contingent of 30 Cal State police officers from CSUN and several other campuses will be deployed for the 2 p.m. debate at the Student Union Northridge Center, and at least 100 LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. officers will be on standby if needed, said CSUN Police Chief Edward Harrison. Metal detectors will be set up at the Northridge Center, and Cerna said police will perform bomb sweeps before the event. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (color) CSUN students Antonio Garcia, right, and Emil io Mendez, second from right, argue with visitors from Northern California protesting David Duke's visit. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News |
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