FC: American U. goes censorhappy: Arrests student taping Tipper Gore

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41882-2002Jul21.html

Student Gadfly Runs Afoul of American U.
Taping of Tipper Gore Brings Sanction

By Amy Argetsinger
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 22, 2002; Page B03

Even before the big dust-up at the Tipper Gore appearance, Ben Wetmore was 
a gadfly of some notoriety at American University. The poli-sci major from 
Texas had elbowed his way into the ranks of student government but ended up 
getting impeached after a dispute with fellow legislators.

Then he started a Web journal devoted to criticizing and lampooning campus 
leaders -- particularly President Benjamin Ladner, whose stately home and 
car Wetmore took to photographing and posting on his site as evidence of 
what he saw as administrative extravagance.

"He's kind of like a Matt Drudge, but more immature," a fellow student 
politician said of Wetmore.

Wetmore had a pretty shaky relationship with the administration by April 8, 
when the former vice president's wife went to speak at the campus. Wetmore 
brought his video camera, suspicious that Gore was drawing a large fee and 
reasoning that "there should at least be a record of her being here," he said.

Midway through her speech, campus police officers approached Wetmore and 
demanded that he hand over the tape. After a scuffle, he was arrested and 
sent to a campus disciplinary panel, which placed him on probation and 
removed him from his elected office as dorm president. Among the charges: 
theft of Gore's intellectual property by videotaping her speech.

[...]




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