By Liz Coffin-KarlinThe Daily Northwestern

Early last week, a group of protesters took up residence near The Arch on the patch of sidewalk directly in front of the crosswalk at Sheridan Road and Chicago Avenue. The group held posters, handed out literature and sang songs such as “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” The protesters were not affiliated with Northwestern.

Several weeks ago, a group of elderly protesters occupied the same spot, handing out pamphlets on what they called a “freedom of speech” issue. Several students took positions around the sidewalk, yelling to alert others of what they thought was a discriminatory message in the pamphlets. Similarly, these protesters had no link to the university.

“We value academic freedom, free speech, and the marketplace of ideas, and sometimes it’s a very hard pill to swallow when we abhor what is being said,” said Vice President for Student Affairs William Banis.

Because the sidewalk that runs along Sheridan Road is the property of the city of Evanston, university officials have no authority to remove the groups, regardless of the opinions of the NU community.

“As long as you’re not doing anything illegal, you can do pretty much anything you want on a public sidewalk,” said University Police Assistant Chief Dan McAleer.

Since the area northeast of The Arch is private property, protesters unaffiliated with the university would be asked to leave if their event took place on campus, according to McAleer. UP gets a few complaints each year about unaffiliated groups on university property, he said, and it deals with those instances accordingly.

However, if complainants call UP about protesters on the public sidewalk, the department tells them that “they have the legal right to be there,” McAleer said.

“Groups are certainly allowed to be on public city property and peacefully demonstrate,” Banis said.

Since NU welcomes a “variety of groups and individuals” to speak on campus and treats them with “civility and respect,” the university must be neutral toward unaffiliated protesters having an event on public property.

If the protesters begin disturbing the peace or threatening someone, the situation becomes a law enforcement issue for the Evanston Police Department, Banis said.

The last time a large-scale protest of this type occurred was in 1999, with incidents involving white supremacist Matt Hale.

In July of 1999, Benjamin Smith, a former member of the white supremacist church, the World Church of the Creator, shot and killed former NU basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong as well as a Korean-American graduate student at Indiana University. The shooter also injured nine Orthodox Jews during the same spree.

On Oct. 17, 1999, Hale’s group distributed white supremacist literature at NU, sparking a conflict that absorbed the university through the end of January.

After Hale’s group, which was perceived as anti-Semitic and racist, was informed that they could not distribute literature on campus, Hale asked the university to give his group the status of a campus religious organization. He said he had five students who were members of a “covert chapter” of his organization and that 15 other students were potentially interested in joining.

Administrators repeatedly called the group members “crazies” and said there was no guarantee the group would receive recognition on campus even if they gained the 15 required student signatures.

In early November of 1999, about 300 anti-Hale protesters gathered at the Rebecca Crown Center yelling, “Gay, straight, black, white, one struggle, one fight.”

Hale then scheduled a visit to NU for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. The visit turned violent and resulted in the arrests of three men who were charged with disorderly conduct. About 200 people protested Hale’s visit in person, and another 100 held a boycott in Harris Hall.

Unlike that incident, both groups at The Arch this quarter were largely ignored, and the surrounding garbage cans were filled with their literature.

Gender studies Prof. Nicola Beisel said she doubted last week’s protesters – who were anti-abortion advocates – had much success with their recruitment techniques.

“I don’t think people are going to see a sign of a dead fetus and say ‘Now I think differently about abortion,'” said Beisel, who is writing a book about abortion politics.

Unlike campus speakers who want to encourage discussion, unaffiliated protesters often have a different agenda, Banis said.

“Off-campus extremist groups want to yell. … It’s not civil discourse that they’re after,” Banis said.

Reach Liz Coffin-Karlin at [email protected].