Tension building up before Gilchrist appearance

Students and faculty of the Chicano and Latino studies department are devising ways to show their opposition to Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist and two "surprise" speakers, who all are scheduled to speak at an open forum hosted by the Conservative Student Union this coming Tuesday at noon in the Beach Auditorium.

However, according to the president of the Conservative Student Union, Jason Aula, the Minuteman Project is a peaceful group that ensures immigration laws are enforced. Aula said participants of the project work toward this goal by monitoring the border and contacting authorities when they spot illegal immigrants crossing it, as well as protesting day-labor sites and employers of illegal immigrants.

"Minuteman people just want federal laws enforced, not a revolution," Aula said.

Armando Vazquez-Ramos, a Chicano and Latino studies professor who has spent the past 40 years at CSULB as both a student and faculty member, described Gilchrist as a "right-wing zealot" whose visit will become "a forum to spew his hate and message of immigrant bashing."

"It is just an opportunity for him to build his political ad campaign," Vazquez-Ramos said. "He will be providing no knowledge or objective facts. He is coming to instigate."

Aula said his campus organization set up the forum to discuss illegal immigration - a major concern for many conservatives - and provide a comfortable environment for people with conservative viewpoints.

Aula said he believed there are many "closet conservatives" on campus, but that they keep quiet due what he said is an overwhelming politically liberal majority on campus. He hoped that many will use the open forum as an opportunity to come out.

Aula also welcomed opponents of Gilchrist to attend.

"As many protesters as they want can come," he said. "It's just bad publicity on their part."

Vazquez-Ramos said students and faculty met last week and will meet again Friday to discuss how to express opposition of the event. Their plans include protesting outside the event, boycotting it, providing a speaker to debate Gilchrist, and organizing a separate "objective, intellectual and informational" counter-event scheduled for the same time.

The problem with debating Gilchrist, Vazquez-Ramos said, is that "if you engage him, you're giving him the recognition he does not deserve."

Vazquez-Ramos said he has been telling his students, "I'm not gonna tell you what to do. You can go, but be aware of the potential consequences."

Aula said measures have been taken to ensure that the protesters will not be able to stop the show completely. The Conservative Student Union has reserved the first two rows of the Beach Auditorium for attendees "who won't do anything funny," and that there will be plainclothes security guards, as well as Gilchrist's private guards, at the event.

Aula said he met a few weeks ago with the on-campus La Raza Student Association, which he referred to as "basically the brown KKK," to discuss the upcoming event, let them know that he is not a racist, and invite them to submit any speakers from their side.

"La Raza didn't seem too thrilled about it," Aula said.

La Raza Student Association chair member Nehemias Hernandez said the organization is separate from a national group that Aula mistakenly associates them with.

"He got his information from the Internet. He assumed everything."

La Raza is encouraging its members to participate in the event by passing out immigration fact sheets and listening to Gilchrist.

"We don't want to fuel his fire," Hernandez said.

Senior interdisciplinary studies major Vince Scott said he thought "guys like him should be allowed to say whatever they want to say so you know where they stand."

Senior political science major Lindsay Nelson said, "I don't support their position, but there is such a thing as free speech. I wouldn't want them to stop me from bringing someone who I would want to speak ... I probably just won't go."