For years I have been doing outreach at Keene State College. This normally consists of handing out fliers on campus, especially during class changes. Only this year did I ever encounter any trouble from campus security, when they threatened me with a no trespass order if I were to continue handing out information. Upon visiting with one of the college directors in his office, I inquired regarding their policy. I was told that not even KSC students may hand out fliers on campus! I was informed that I could have a table in the student center, just like the students can have. I would be allowed to sit behind the table, quietly, and only interact with people who came up to speak to me.
This was unacceptable to me. It’s highly ineffective. Why sit at a table all day or even for a few hours, when my friends and I can deliver hundreds of fliers in fifteen minutes during class change? Besides, aren’t college campuses advertised as the holy grail of free speech? What a bunch of nonsense.
So, last week on Thursday, I returned to the campus with new mover Daryl Perry. Since I had no fliers to promote the 420 celebration happening at the Concord state house the following day, I brought along a megaphone. We walked around during a class change and I called out invitations to the students to join us for 4/20. The messages were well received by the students, as they always are.
However, after about fifteen minutes, college security officers were headed our way. They ran us off-campus and then Daryl was pulled over by Keene Police’s Jason Short on the way home. Here is video of that interaction, complete with an “aha” moment as Jason connects the dots on the irony of his smoking a cigar while helping cage other peaceful drug users (just like him) in his role as a detective and enforcer for the NH drug task force. (He is inquiring at the time about his entry on the Keene Police Fanpage on facebook, which has a photo of him smoking a cigar.)
By the way, Darryl never touched the megaphone or handed out fliers. He’d never been to the campus before. He was also given a 1-year no trespass notice!
