University Officials Threaten to Arrest Conservative Student

Administrators at the University of Central Oklahoma at Edmond have threatened to arrest a student who was recruiting members for a conservative club. The student is accused of violating a university policy that requires permission to recruit for clubs. The student, Travis Cleek, was trying to identify fellow conservatives who were interested in starting a new conservative club on campus last week when police threatened to arrest him for trespassing, according to Michelle Miller, a spokeswoman for the conservative Leadership Institute. .... Miller called the lengthy process "pretty bizarre." .... it's "like the 'chicken and the egg' thing - how can you start a group if you can't recruit?" She said she didn't understand the process because "you have to recruit the people to start the group before you can start the process because you have to have the people."....

Cleek called on the university to "end this bureaucratic process which stifles the First Amendment rights of students." He called it "outrageous that students have to jump through so many hoops and pay $200 just to have their voices heard on campus." Student groups are required to pay the $200 fee to reserve a recruitment table on campus. ... University officials did not respond to requests for comment ... Read More ...