A group of SIUC students say the Nation of Islam promulgates racism and bigotry and that the Undergraduate Student Government should not have granted the organization RSO status.

Nate Newcomb, a senior in history, and other College Republicans, say the USG Internal Affairs Committee made a big mistake by allowing the Nation of Islam to flourish at the University as an RSO, effectively giving the group the right to apply for USG funding.

They (USG) don’t want to listen to their constituents on this because they don’t want to address the race issue, Newcomb said. The Nation of Islam is a racist group. They blame whites and Jews for all the problems of black people. The University should not legitimize a group that has these views.

Enoch Muhammad, coordinator for the Nation of Islam Student Association, said he would not dignify (Newcomb’s) remarks with a comment, but might issue a statement after the issue has been resolved.

Newcomb maintains that the committee acted contrary to state law by granting a discriminatory organization RSO status. Illinois law requires university RSOs to abide by non-discrimination and equal opportunity statutes when accepting members.

USG voted to grant the Nation of Islam Student Association, which has about 25 registered members, RSO status Oct. 15, under recommendation from the Internal Affairs Committee. Newcomb met with the committee prior to the vote, but said his arguments were dismissed within five minutes.

They told me there’s nothing we can do, he said. Connie Howard was to the point of patronizing. It was ridiculous. It was just something to try to get me to go away, but I didn’t.

Howard, chairwoman of the Internal Affairs Committee, said that because of time restraints, Newcomb’s arguments were cut short. But after reviewing his complaints, she said that the committee could not find anything to warrant barring the Nation of Islam from becoming an RSO.

He thinks because he’s against them, that everybody should be against them, she said. I don’t know why he would say I was patronizing. Not everything is the way you want it.

By looking at their constitution, he has no grounds on which to say they can’t become an RSO.

USG President Dave Vingren said he did not want to comment on the matter because it did not involve his office.

Under our constitution, the USG has full authority over recognizing RSO status and therefore it’s an issue I, as president, do not have any say over, Vingren said.

Newcomb said Vingren’s comments are bogus because the president has veto power over any bill that passes the Senate.

The Nation of Islam Student Association, in Article III Sec. 2 (a-b) of its constitution, offers two types of membership. The first is a registered member, who must subscribe to the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad through His Servant and Representative, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, and who must adhere to the restricted laws of Islam and must subscribe to the Muslim Program as given by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad through the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan Muhammad.

The other type of member is a patron, who, according to Sec. 3 (c), studies, sympathizes with and pledges to be a supporter of the Honorable Muhammad, through His Representative, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, the Muslim Program, the Teachings of the Holy Qur’an and the Truths of the Bible.

It further states, a patron is registered into membership in the Nation of Islam Student Association upon submission of their application to the Executive Council and acceptance of said application.

Also integrated into the constitution is a disclaimer that insures the student organization against any and all claims or causes of action undertaken by the national organization. Article 14 states, The Nation of Islam Student Association indemnifies the Muhammad Mosque Number 2, which is the Headquarters of The Muhammad Mosque, and all affiliate Muhammad Mosques against any and all claims or causes of action arising out of transactions and/or general activities of this organization.

Despite the disclaimer, Newcomb argues that because both types of members must subscribe to the teachings of Farrakhan, who Newcomb says espouses anti-white and anti-Semitic views, the membership process is discriminatory by nature.

Howard could not say if the group was discriminatory or non-discriminatory, only that it has the right to be an RSO.

Every religion has its own beliefs, she said.

In the Anti-Defamation League’s periodic Research Report, compiled by its Civil Rights Division, Farrakhan is quoted as pronouncing statements like, narrow minded common Jews . . . The Jews cannot defeat me so I will grind them and crush them into little bits, (May 23, 1988) and I don’t know all Jews. If you can introduce me to some good Jews and find a good Jew that is not a bloodsucker, I would be happy to meet them, (April 1, 1994).

I love Colin Ferguson who killed all those white folks on the Long Island train, (April 1, 1994) and There is a little bit of Hitler in all white people, (April 1, 1994).

Mandela sold us out . . . I say give em (whites) 24 hours to get out of town. If they don’t, kill everyone white in sight. Kill the men, kill the women, kill the children, kill the blind, kill the crippled. God damn it, kill them all, (May 13, 1994).

You can’t out-devil the devil. The white man’s nature is to lie and steal. You have to beat the white man in righteousness, (May 22, 1994).

We set forth here tonight that the black Holocaust was 100 times worse than the so-called Jew Holocaust . . . You say you lost 6 million. We question that . . . Schindler’s List is really Swindler’s List, (April 12, 1994).

Newcomb says these statements exemplify the Nation of Islam’s racist core and thus affirm the exclusive nature of the organization.

Despite his past statements, Farrakhan has maintained his organization does not espouse racist views.

I’m not anti-Semitic, not a hater of Jews and whites; it’s not your complexions or your faith that has messed up the world. It’s the way you think, (July 26, 1994).

Newcomb said he spoke with Enoch Muhammad about joining the group. After telling him that he was white and Jewish, Newcomb said Muhammad refused to tell him where and when the organization was meeting.

Muhammad would not comment on the alleged encounter.

Howard said she was not aware of the incident, but would be concerned if it actually had transpired.

If they intentionally did that, I would have a problem with that, she said. I’d want an investigation.

Newcomb also objects to the group becoming an RSO because it now has the right to apply for USG funding, money that is extracted from the collection of student activity fees. Newcomb said he refuses to financially support any group that subscribes to racist and bigoted philosophies. And because all students are required to pay a small activity fee as part of their tuition cost, he said, everyone, in effect, would be forced to associate themselves with the Nation of Islam.

It’s unconstitutional, he said.

Newcomb has scheduled a meeting with the University Ombudsman to discuss the matter and file a complaint.

The debate over future funding for the Nation of Islam parallels a similar case at the University of Wisconsin at Madison where three students opposed to collective university funding for certain controversial organizations sued the school on constitutional grounds. The students, Scott Southworth, Amy Schoepke and Keith Bannach, opposed the use of their activity fee money for campus groups that promote extremist environmental positions and support abortion rights and homosexuality.

The case, Southworth v. Grebe (Grebe being the president of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents), was heard before a federal district court in Madison, Wis., in spring 1996, where the students won on First Amendment grounds. The case is in the appeals process. Argued before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on June 4, it is expected to be ruled on later this year.

If the Madison decision is upheld and opposition to the organization persists, Southworth v. Grebe could affect Nation of Islam Student Association funding, as SIUC is under the jurisdiction of the 7th Circuit Court.

Newcomb is not alone in his contentions, as some fellow College Republican members also have come out against USG’s actions. College Republican President Erik Woehrmann concurs with Newcomb’s analysis of the Nation of Islam and said USG should not have voted in favor of the organization.

We cannot let an organization like this receive student funds because they’re blatantly and openly racist, Woehrmann said. They feed the hate.

Woehrmann said the College Republicans have not undertaken the matter officially, but might do so in the future. He said, however, there seems to be a consensus among the executive board that USG was wrong in granting them RSO status.

We say, go for it, I mean if we had a constitution like theirs, think of all the flack we’d be getting, he said. We’re giving Nate moral support.

Their message is not a message of cooperation, peace and harmony no matter what they say. This organization proves the theory that not all racists are white.

Larry Juhlin, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs, said he did not know enough about the Nation of Islam or constitutional law to speak lucidly on the subject, but said that RSOs must be inclusive in their membership. Juhlin also said USG needs to scrutinize the matter carefully before taking further action.

What you’re dealing with is freedom of association, he said. I don’t think that’s an issue for an administrator like me to answer.

What we have to decide, though, is what kind of campus do we want to be? What is the role of the University in supporting these kinds of groups?