When I think of the ASUC senate, I picture intelligent, articulate, well-intentioned students whose concern is the well-being of our campus. In most instances, I have found my expectations of students who take part in the senate fulfilled-with one exception.

On Nov. 13th, John Moghtader and two other men confronted me and two other students for holding Palestinian flags on the 2nd floor balcony of Eshleman Hall. When confronted, we refused to give in to their intimidation or surrender our right to free speech. Moghtader and his friends dispute what happened next, but with numerous witness testimonials, UCPD's investigation concluded in a recommendation that Moghtader be charged with assault and battery with an enhancement of a hate crime.

Regardless of whether Moghtader hit anybody, Moghtader violated his responsibilities to the student body to uphold ideals of free speech and campus safety when he entered Eshleman Hall to confront us for expressing our opinions in a peaceful manner. As he did in Senate last semester when he stalled a meeting until a laptop sticker with the word "Palestine" was covered, once again stifling opinions he disagreed with. A person who cannot tolerate the word "Palestine" in discourse, or the Palestinian flag on campus, does not belong in a body which requires full freedom of speech for all students.

In light of these breaches of student conduct, and simple community standards of behavior, I ask you, are these the kinds of constructive examples we want to set for our community?

John Moghtader has refused to accept responsibility for his actions by resigning, and has changed his story concerning the Nov. 13 incident several times. He has blamed everyone but himself for the recall campaign and is alleging that the campaign is based on opposition to his political views. I would like to believe UC Berkeley is a place where disrespect, intimidation and violence are not acceptable ways of expressing one's opinions and are certainly, not the kinds of actions our student leaders would perform.

Sadly, it is those unacceptable expressions that have led us to where we are now, into a corner where we must waste thousands of dollars to remove a Senator who was implicated in a hate crime-something the Senate should have prevented by impeaching him after SQUELCH! removed him from its party last semester.

We, as Berkeley students, not only aspire to tolerate the different values and points of view, but rather welcome and embrace it. I believe Moghtader has every right to express his views in a peaceful manner, so long as it doesn't stifle the rights of others.

John Moghtader has repeatedly demonstrated he is not fit to represent our community. Campus should be a place where students can express their views to audiences of vastly different schools of thought and opinions without fear of disrespect, intimidation or violence. I ask you to vote YES in the recall election. For more information about the recall campaign, you can visit www.no2hate.org.