(KPCC Wire Services) IRVINE — Assemblyman Chuck DeVore sent a letter to UC Irvine's chancellor asking him to ban the Muslim Student Union from campus following several of the group members' arrests while disrupting a speech by Israel's ambassador to the United States.
DeVore, (R-Irvine), who is seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., also accused the Muslim Student Union of "passing the hat'' for Hamas at a fundraiser for the "terrorist organization'' last year.
"It's time to ban this organization from campus,'' DeVore said. "It's not contributing anything of value to the campus.''
DeVore's letter to UCI Chancellor Michael Drake requesting the ban of the Muslim Student Union follows the arrest of 11 students after allegedly disrupting a Feb. 8 speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at the campus.
UCI Media Relations Director Cathy Lawhon said the university's response to DeVore's letter is that UCI officials are considering the allegations against the 11 students and the Muslim Student Union. The students and organization face a range of discipline from a warning to expulsion, but it is not known when officials will decide on punishment, Lawhon said. None of the 11 students who were arrested have been charged, according to court records.
The university is also still investigating the Muslim Student Union's fundraiser last year that critics say benefited Hamas.
The university has been roiled over permitting an anti-Semitic climate to fester on campus over the past several years.
