wfn.org | Wofford student continues leading white supremacy group

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

April 5, 1999	Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71B{182}

By Davie Burgdorf*

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (UMNS) - Wofford College usually draws national attention
because of its academics.

Not this time.

For two months, the United Methodist-related college has been dealing with a
situation involving a student who runs a white supremacist World Wide Web
site out of a computer server in California.

Operating under the alias of Bo Decker, Davis Wolfgang Hawke runs the
Knights of Freedom - a neo-Nazi group consisting of members spread
throughout the United States.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center in Birmingham, Ala., the group
has approximately 200 members, although Hawke claims to have more than
1,000.

The group's Web site features Hawke dressed in a Nazi SS-style uniform
standing in front of a Nazi flag. A disclaimer on the Web page states the
group "does not promote or encourage violence" and claims the organization
is a National Socialist political party.

Although Hawke doesn't use any Wofford equipment to spread his message, it
has brought negative publicity to the United Methodist college.

Wofford President Joab M. Lesesne Jr. has been quick to state that the
college does not support the ideas Hawke expresses and that Hawke speaks
only for himself and not for the student body.

Wofford's policy encourages students to "voice their opinions, but they must
realize that they speak only for themselves and not the student body or the
college community as a whole."

The college's  policy also protects students' freedom of association to
groups located off the college campus.

"I speak for the board of trustees and the entire college community in
saying the content of the student's speech through his Web site is
irresponsible and repugnant," Lesesne said. "It is disgusting and provoking,
and it makes us sad."

In a press release Wofford officials said, "The lessons of liberal learning
and of our Christian tradition stand firmly in opposition to the ideas of
supremacist groups."

The college is bound by the constitutional right of freedom of speech and by
the right to free speech as stated in Wofford's Code for Student Rights and
Responsibilities, Lesesne said.

For those reasons, the school can't and won't take any action against Hawke.

Since the situation came to light, Hawke has moved off campus. Wofford
students have used the situation as a learning experience and have opened
dialogue about hate groups.

# # #

*Burgdorf is editor of The Advocate, the monthly publication of the United
Methodist Church's South Carolina Annual Conference. This story originally
appeared in that publication.

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