Preacher will file legal action against IU

Evangelist Jim Gilles said Friday he will take legal action against IU in response to a meeting last Tuesday in which administrators said he was violating the "campus demonstrations, picketing and assembly ground policy." The University instructed him to move from his position between Woodburn and Ballantine Hall to Dunn Meadow. \nGilles said he will hand the matter over to his lawyer Nate Kellum.\n"I'm disheartened that IU's doing this, I've come here for 20 years, and I've never been stopped," Gilles said.\nThe meeting took place after someone made a call to the IU Police Department a week ago, reporting a large, noisy crowd and the possibility of an attack on Gilles. IUPD then contacted the director of the Student Activities Office Jim Gibson to investigate the situation. \nAssociate University Counsel Kip Drew was at the meeting where Gibson, Gilles and a group of associates supporting him discussed why they asked Gilles to move, she said.\n"We talked about what our feelings were on trying to give him an opportunity to express views without someone getting hurt," Drew said. "It seemed to me the situation was getting more volatile (from the day before)."\nDrew said they also talked about IU's Assembly Ground policy, which names Dunn Meadow as the site for people to demonstrate their views.\nGilles said the policy does not apply to him because he is not a student, but Drew says that argument is incorrect.\n"(The policy) applies to anybody," Drew said. "It does apply to everybody that comes to campus."\nGilles said his safety was not discussed at the meeting, and he never feared for his safety. \n"I invite and encourage interaction from the crowd," Gilles said. \nDrew said the administration's main concern was preventing conflicts on campus. She said since Dunn Meadow is so much bigger, it allows more room for the free exchange of views and ideas, and it poses less of a threat to the speaker and audience both.\nAccording to the "Campus Demonstration, Picketing and Assembly Ground policy," gatherings on campus elsewhere than on the Assembly Ground (Dunn Meadow) will not be permitted to disturb classes or interfere with traffic. \nDrew said with the amount of people walking, bicycling, skateboarding and rollerblading in the area between Ballantine and Woodburn Hall, the crowd Gilles caused was impeding pedestrian traffic flow.\n"It's hard enough for people to get to class (in that area)," she said.\nDrew said she hopes Gilles doesn't feel like he needs to sue the University, but she realizes that is a possibility. She said he made references to taking legal action in the meeting, but she had not been contacted as of Monday. \n"I feel like we've acted appropriately, and we'll respond in that way," Drew said. "We want him to be able to speak; the question is where and in what manner."\nGilles said he won't be coming back to IU if he has to preach in Dunn Meadow. He said there are not enough students walking through the area to get his message out.\n"I don't preach to birds and squirrels," he said.