Activist slams UH for banning photos of CIA 'spook'
HILO » Hawaii Island peace activist Jim Albertini says he will file a complaint with the University of Hawaii at Hilo for banning photography at a recruiting event by a Central Intelligence Agency employee on campus Thursday.
"If the CIA spook doesn't want his photo taken, then he shouldn't be giving a public recruiting lecture at a public university," Albertini said.
UHH Vice Chancellor Keith Miser responded that the university occasionally imposes bans on photography of individuals or of events such as performances. "It's not a totally unusual thing to do that," he said.
William S. Richardson School of Law* professor Jon Van Dyke* said in a telephone interview after the event that as a practical matter, the CIA probably has the power to insist on what it wants.
For example, law schools across the nation attempted to ban military recruiters from their campuses, alleging that the military discriminates against women.
Congress then passed a law, and the U.S. Supreme Court eventually upheld it, that any campus that banned military recruiters would lose all its federal funding.
Any attempt by the University of Hawaii to impose conditions on CIA recruiters could create the risk of a similar loss of funds, Van Dyke said.
The UHH Web site included a weekly calendar with the announcement of "Career Information Session -- CIA" for Thursday evening.
It also announced "Special Restrictions," but the only one posted was, "Remember to dress professionally!"
Hawaii Tribune-Herald photographer William Ing said UHH Director of Career Services Norman Stahl stopped him from photographing. "He warned me, 'If you take pictures, I'm going to have the security guard take you out,'" Ing said.
The reason given to Ing was that the speaker was a "clandestine operative."
"I don't believe that for a second," Ing said. Everyone in the audience of about 40 people saw the man's face, he said.
In fact, Stahl introduced the CIA employee by name, and Miser also gave the name: Joe Dorsey, from the CIA West Coast Recruitment Office in Fountain Valley, Calif.
Miser said it is CIA "practice" not to allow photos of its employees.
CORRECTION
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
» The correct name of the University of Hawaii law school is the William S. Richardson School of Law. A story on Page A5 on Saturday incorrectly identified the school as the John A. Burns School of Law. In the same story, the name of law professor Jon Van Dyke was misspelled.
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