Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.metro From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Protesters to hold vigil as Ice-T sings tonight Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 14:12:10 EST Message-ID: Lines: 71 \SE B;METROPOLITAN \HD Protesters to hold vigil as Ice-T sings tonight \BY Matt Neufeld \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES Police officers and students are scheduled to hold a candlelight vigil tonight outside a concert by rap stars Ice-T and Public Enemy in College Park to protest songs about killing police. The protest is meant to be a peaceful statement against Ice-T's "Cop Killer," which police believe condones killing officers, and against other Ice-T songs, said Lt. N. Bruce Robins, a board member of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 73. The union represents officers at the University of Maryland at College Park and the University of Maryland Baltimore County in Catonsville. For tonight's 8 p.m. show at UMd.'s Ritchie Coliseum, Ice-T signed a contract in which he stated he will not perform "Cop Killer," said Steve McDowall, president of Student Entertainment Enterprises (SEE), the student group producing the show. An estimated 50 students will join the police officers in the vigil and the reading of slain police officers' names, said Ben Scholes, president of Young Americans for Freedom, a campus group. The protest is not an attempt "to abridge anyone's freedom of speech or expression," the union said in a statement. "We are, however, wishing to show our sincere concern about the corruption of our society that is facilitated by the deplorable messages of Ice-T." Ice-T songs such as "Mom ma's Gotta Die" and "KKK Bitch" also have unacceptable violent messages, Lt. Robins said. Ice-T has said in interviews that "Cop Killer" is not intended to condone killing or violence. He said the song is meant to portray the views of someone on the streets who is angry and frustrated with police brutality. He has denied promoting violence in other songs. Police nationwide protested "Cop Killer," threatening this summer to sell millions of dollars in stock in Time Warner, the song's distribution label. Ice-T subsequently pulled the song from the album "Body Count" and stopped performing the song in concert. Mr. McDowall stressed that Ice-T will not be performing with the band Body Count but will perform solo with a disc jockey. There have been no complaints about the main act, Public Enemy, he said. On Nov. 13, Lodge 73 filed a complaint about the concert with the university's Office of Human Relations. In the complaint the union said Ice-T's performance "does not develop a positive and productive atmosphere of human relations on the campus" and "the appearance of Ice-T does not foster better human relations among all individuals and groups on the campus." The complaint asked school officials to use legal means based on that argument to cancel the show. The concert is scheduled to occur, said Drury Bagwell, campus vice president for student affairs. "We very strongly support the police in their right to express their opinions," Mr. Bagwell said. But the university applies the same standards to Ice-T, Public Enemy and the students producing the show, he said. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM