SGA presidential candidate Darwin Butler, enjoys a hot dog at a campaign event for his opponents, the Reformation slate, Friday. Reformation presidential candidate Jacqueline Anderson (right) and vice-presidential candidate Carrie Mowen look on. photo by Stephanie Platt

Campus police escorted Student Government Association presidential candidate Darwin Butler Sr. from the University Meadows on Thursday when he attempted to attend a campaign barbecue sponsored by his opponent Jacqueline Anderson.

Butler said he felt he was the victim of discrimination.

"I feel that being the only black candidate, I've heard the word intimidate . . . I've heard that word kicked around a lot," Butler said. "But that shouldn't have any relevance. I mean, everybody else if they can attend, I don't understand why I can't attend."

Anderson denies Butler's allegations of discrimination.

"I had heard that he was planning on showing up at our barbecue," Anderson said. "There had been some incidents in the past, he had said a few words to my running-mate Carrie Mowen, so we really didn't want his presence there. We felt that it would be a little uncomfortable not only for us but for the people that attended to speak with us."

Butler said he had spoken with Mowen, the Reformation slate's vice-presidential candidate but said he was not confrontational with her.

Mowen said she is not sure why Butler is making the discrimination allegations.

"I don't know if he's trying to bully us or what he's trying to do or what he's trying to gain from it," Mowen said.

Butler said he learned of the barbecue on Wednesday when he received a flyer promoting the event. He said he decided to attend the barbecue as a student and not as a candidate.

However upon arriving at the Meadows, he was met by Meadows C.A. Sean Wittenberg who asked him to leave.

"I told him that I was a student, that I have tuition paid up until the semester and that I have every right to be here," Butler said. "That's when he informed me that that was private property and that he was asked by one of the residents, I don't know who it was, that if I showed up to make sure that I didn't get in and to escort me out of the place."

University Meadows officials were unavailable for comment, but Anderson said she was the one who asked that Butler be removed.

Anderson said there were a couple of reasons why she asked that Butler be removed. One, was the alleged confrontation between Mowen and Butler. The other was that she said Butler's actions were impolite.

"It's impolite to show up at your opposition's campaign party . . . I am a resident of the University Meadows. It is private property, and so I'm allowed to ask him to leave," Anderson said.

The University Meadows policy regarding the use of the clubhouse, where the barbecue took place, states that only members of the University Meadows community can reserve the clubhouse. Anderson lives in the Meadows, but did not reserve the room.

Marsha Nored reserved the room. Nored, who lives in the Meadows, is a friend to both Anderson and Mowen. Though Nored said she was not present when Butler arrived, she said that Meadows inhabitants have a right to request unwanted guests to leave because the University does not run the Meadows.

"The University owns the University Meadows property, but it will not come under University control for another 20 years . . . it is now controlled by the University Meadows management," Nored said.

Anderson said that the barbecues, another one of which was held Friday, were sponsored entirely by the Reformation slate for which she is the SGA presidential candidate. Both Anderson and Mowen said that all costs associated with the barbecues were paid for by their slate and that Mowen has all of the receipts to back it up.

Butler said he is not concerned with how the barbecues were funded. He said he was only concerned about his exclusion.

Thursday's events did not stop Butler from attending the Reformation slate's Friday barbecue. This time Butler was not escorted out because the barbecue was held at the Honors College.

"[The Reformation Slate] was posting this as an open event which means that there is no exclusion," said Lisa Grubbs, Director of Residential Life. "If there is inappropriate conduct from our guests, then we can ask them to leave."

Though Butler came and left without incident Friday, he said that he should have had the right to attend Thursday's barbecue.

"This is America," Butler said. "We have a right to go wherever we choose and do whatever we want to do as long as it don't infringe on other folk's rights. The right to exclude is not a right in America . . . the 1964 Civil Rights Act gave everyone the right to do and attend everything equally."

However, Anderson said she disagrees with Butler's assertions. Instead, she said there was no discrimination at either event.

Anderson said that the wide variety of people who showed up and were welcomed shows that Butler was not racially discriminated against.

"There were so many ethnicities that showed up at our barbecue and we didn't discriminate against one of them," Anderson said. "So there is no racial discrimination involved."