6.

By David Chokroun TORONTO (CUP)

QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY HAS DECIDED TO

ueen’s University has decided to allowfootage taken of a white supremacist student in a universityclassroom to be used in a television docu- mentary.

The filming of part of the documentary at Queen’s without thepermission of university ad- ministrators caused some controversylast month.

In mid-September, a production company making a film on theCanadian racist right-wing for CTV filmed a second-year history class atthe uni- versity. One of the members of the classis amember of thewhite-supremacist Heritage Front. Queen’s reacted by protesting to the network, asking that the footage not be used, according to university vice- principal Tom Williams. However, the university decided to allow the use of the footage if the

" instructor consented. ‘‘At this point the professor

has agreed to let us use the footage. He’s signed a release and we consider the matter closed,”’ said the documentary’s associate producer.

On Oct. 4, the associate producer defended

the actions of the film crew to the class. ‘“We wanted to keep our visit to Queen’s as quiet as possible,”’ he told them.

The objective of the filming was to cap- ture a normal day in the

The Heritage Front tried to

Racism: Queen's white supremacist filmed for TV documenta

Smith, said he waswriting an article on the incident for ‘‘a large national newspaper.’’? Smith would make no further comment.

Sean Purdy, a Queen’s history instruc- tor and a member of the

life of the Heritage Front have criminal charges International Socialists member, he said, and this 7 (IS), says his group was would have been impos- br ought against the news- alsocontacted by the film

sible had the crew gone through official chan-

paper on the grounds that it

crew. Purdy himself was interviewed for the

nels. The associate pro- ; documentary.’ ’The idea een promoted hatred against — “ecumentary. Th - that the controversy at wh Ite males. racist presence on cam-

Queen’s might derail the documentary, which is still incomplete.’ ’None of [the white supremacists] are under the illusion that we’re on their side, but there’s a certain rapport that we’ve built up over a period of months. If the publicity gathers more steam, it could be disastrous,’’ he said.

The professor whose class was filmed, Geoff

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pus,” Purdysaid.

Purdy added that while the Heritage Front member who was filmed is not active in recruiting for the group at Queen’s, she has been active in other ways. ‘‘One of her roles in Kingston is to funnel information back to Toronto,”’ Purdy said. Over the last year, the student has attended meetings of leftist and anti-racist groups

U.P.E.1. Women’s Centre October 30 - November 30

Opening

on campus, presumably to gather information. “g spied on the IS, and she also actually attendg meeting of an anti-fascist group,’’ Purdy said,

According to Purdy, the student playe; part in the demise of Surface, a left-leaning Queey paper that was shut down last year after criticis from conservative elements on campus. The Her age Front tried to have criminal charges brou against the newspaper on the grounds that it p moted hatred against white males. ‘‘Her sort launching-off point was to criticize Surface. § thought it was racist, and she wrote in letters und a pseudonym criticizing the paper,’’ Purdy said

Purdy added that the student’s identity become well-known at Queen’s, and that sim classes began this fall, she has kept a lower pro than before. ‘‘She put up posters and left par phlets in study carrels in the libraries,”’ Purdy saif

Since the filming, the Heritage Front men ber has dropped Smith’s class, as-well as a co on race relations, Purdy said.She could not reached for comment.

Sunday, October 30, 8:00 p.m.

October 25, 1994|