A poster depicting President Obama sporting a Hitler-style mustache raised questions concerning free speech and the campus' visitor policy.

The LaRouche movement frequently has a table outside of the Parks Student Union and had the poster on display.

Lyndon LaRouche is an economic and political activist. He has had a wide spread career and has ran in the presidential election 8 times. Currently, LaRouche is best known for the several organizations he has founded, collectively known as the LaRouche movement.
For the LaRouche campaign, the controversy over this poster and others like it is nothing new.

At least one faculty member questioned whether or not this poster was hate speech. When contacted, the EvCC staffer refused to speak about the topic. LaRouche representatives also refused to be interviewed on the subject.

Excluding the Parks Student Union, Everett Community College is an open campus. The college does not have a policy in place that prevents any group or organization from coming onto the premises. This means the material that is presented to our student body is not filtered, nor does it need to be approved through any official process.

However, the controversy over this poster has caused faculty to rethink our visitor policy, according to Dotti Krzyzanoski, vice president of student services.

"We are in the process of developing a policy, trying to find a balance between allowing students to become exposed to different views and [preventing] a group or organization from harassing or intimidating them," said Krzyzanoski. "Striking this balance is very difficult."

Other campuses have already adopted some form of a policy, requiring visitors to register through security or another department before assembling on campus.
The rights of everyone have to be represented and protected in the development of such a policy. This includes the rights of the LaRouche group.

"We all have the right to a different opinion," said Jene Ladke, director of campus health of safety and security.