As chairman of the MSU chapter of the Young Americans for Freedom, Kyle Bristow often speaks on behalf of 30 active members and 40 more who subscribe to YAF's e-mail listserv.
And it was one of his statements — a 13-point agenda posted on ASMSU's Web site last fall — that caused YAF to become the first university organization listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center's annual Hate Group list, to be released in April.
"This is a representation of my beliefs as a conservative," Bristow said of the agenda. "But I would say a great number of 'YAFers' believe them.
"YAF members know we're not a hate group," Bristow said. "They're definitely supportive. I'm pretty disgusted by the SPLC. They don't even really make clear what their policy is to how they go selecting what's on their list. All I know is that we are not what the SPLC thinks we are."
In the 13-point memo, Bristow — among other things — calls for putting an end to funding for all nonheterosexual groups on campus, hunting down and deporting illegal immigrants, creating a "Caucasian Caucus" and "Man's Council" and forcing "Planned Parenthood on Grand River Avenue to leave."
"Some of the principles he says are consistent with YAF, but some of the things, such as forcing Planned Parenthood to close or hunting down illegal immigrants — that's nothing YAF has ever participated in," Craig Burgers, a former YAF chairman, said.
Heidi Beirich is the deputy director of the Intelligence Project for the SPLC, which monitors hate groups in the United States.
She said written ideologies, like Bristow's, are common among hate groups, and it's the main factor the organization looks at to "determine if something should make the hate group cut."
"We have all sorts of e-mails of him using slurs like 'fag,' but it was really the ideology to his agenda that was critical," Beirich said.
Bristow said he has not been contacted by the SPLC, but is meeting with lawyers to discuss a possible lawsuit against the center.
In wanting to create groups such as a "Caucasian Caucus," Bristow said he wants to achieve equal treatment for all races on campus.
"If you don't get rid of (minority-based) groups, you should have groups that represent every single race," he said. "Preferably, we'd have no race-based groups on student government because politics transcends race."
Bristow said his call for an American flag in every classroom and lecture hall on campus is to show patriotism and respect for the country.
"We are a public university," he said. "Most of the people on campus are American. Even if they aren't, they can still respect our country while they're here."
His goal to deport illegal immigrants from the Lansing area is a demonstration against only illegal immigration — not legal immigration, the international relations sophomore said.
"If I were an American and went somewhere else, I wouldn't demand they adapt to my culture," Bristow said. "My ancestors came here legally and abandoned their own cultures and learned the English language."
ASMSU Student Assembly representative Mike Leahy said Bristow's comments rubbed many ASMSU members the wrong way. But it was James Madison College students who acted to remove Bristow as their Student Assembly representative.
ASMSU is MSU's undergraduate student government.
When Bristow posted his controversial beliefs in the form of a 13-point agenda on ASMSU's Web site in October, his constituents voted to oust him with a 225-to-18 vote.
"I'm sure that had a large impact" Leahy said of the memo. "When they saw that, they were obviously not too happy. Just the idea of having the chair of YAF on ASMSU bothered some people."
Beirich agreed with the actions of the James Madison students as a college body.
"I think it's pretty disheartening," she said of Bristow's statements. "Colleges are places of tolerance and open-mindedness, and this stands opposed to all of that.
"Large chunks of your student body would not be there if Kyle Bristow had his way."
