Bruin Republicans Chairman Andrew Jones announced Friday he will
be officially withdrawing the recently-registered student
organization, Student Empowerment! today as a result of threatening
phone calls he said he received.
“I (am not withdrawing the group) because I am wrong …
but rather because of anonymous hostile phone calls I have received
threatening me should I not relinquish the name,” said Jones,
a fourth-year political science student and former Daily Bruin
Viewpoint columnist, in a statement.
Jones said he filed a police report of the two anonymous calls
he received on his cellular phone early Friday morning by a male
caller using a campus phone.
UCPD press aide Nancy Greenstein said Friday the course of
action to be taken by university police will depend on the nature
of the report made. Further information will be available today,
she added.
“The fact that people resort to death threats shows how
far over the line (Empowerment!) has gotten,” Jones said.
Jones believes past Daily Bruin coverage had helped to create an
unsafe environment for him, and that the Daily Bruin editorial
“served to fan the flames of a situation already spiraling
out of control.”
“I simply want the harassment to stop,” Jones
said.
“He is doing the right thing,” said Undergraduate
Students Association Council President David Dahle, of the Students
United for Reform and Equality slate, who said he supports the
Empowerment! slate name being unregistered.
Empowerment! councilmembers shared the sentiment.
“It’s great he resigned the name,” said
External Vice President Chris Neal. “He shouldn’t have
had it in the first place.”
Neal also condemned the phone calls made to Jones.
“I don’t support threats regardless of the anger
caused … it’s not appropriate,” he added.
Academic Affairs Commissioner Chris Diaz, an Empowerment! slate
member, said the threats were “unfortunate.”
“We wouldn’t advocate acts of hate against anyone if
that is happening,” Diaz said.
Jones and two other students registered the Empowerment! name as
an official student group at the Center for Student Programming
last week.
Having previously attacked the Empowerment! slate during last
year’s election campaign, many questioned Jones’
intentions.
“I actually thought it was a good name … I wasn’t
planning to trick people,” Jones said.
“We didn’t mean to cause any problems. We
didn’t anticipate a big reaction,” said Dylan Thomas, a
third-year political science student who registered along with
Jones as a leader of the Empowerment! group.
Thomas said he helped register the group as a personal favor to
Jones.
Councilmembers will advocate CSP changing some of its
registration policies, Diaz said.
Slates, coalitions of students formed during council elections
to strengthen their chances of winning, do not meet the
qualifications to register with the center as a student group,
leaving the name available for registration.
Student groups seeking university sponsorship must register
yearly, and group names are allocated on a first-come first-serve
basis.
“There’s a loophole that’s not being looked at
seriously … CSP needs to be more proactive,” he added.
Internal Vice President T.J. Cordero said he will file an
official complaint with the CSP this week. Cordero will bring up
the issue in his officer report at the USAC general meeting
tonight, he said.
Councilmembers will also be meeting with Berky Nelson, director
of the CSP and consulting with legal advisers, Diaz said.
With reports from Andrew Edwards, Daily Bruin Staff.