Students who were upset about a sexually charged T-shirt distributed on campus said they would like to drop the charges they filed with university officials if they are permitted to educate the shirtmakers.
A flier advertising for T-shirts bearing the phrase "Wolverines Pack Fudge," accompanied by an explicit cartoon, was distributed on campus in October, before the MSU-U-M football game.
Three members of Respecting Individuals on Neutral Ground, or RING, a caucus of the Alliance of Lesbian, Bi, Gay and Transgender Students, went to university officials to file a complaint against the students who sold the shirts.
Two students involved in the production and sale of the T-shirts, biomedical science junior Carmen Peter and economics junior Charlie Peck, were unable to be reached for comment Sunday.
Joseph Doss, who said he hosted Web space for the site that distributed the shirts, said he did not have any part in the creation of the merchandise and hosting the Web site is not a punishable offense.
University officials said Doss was in violation of policies that keep students from posting fliers except in areas designated by the university and from selling merchandise in residence halls, which also includes MSU-granted Web space.
Doss said his only hand in the matter was as a host to the site, which is only linked through his MSU Web site.
"I wouldn't host anything that I wasn't paying for," Doss said. "Some people don't like it, and that's the reason they are bringing charges up against me."
Tom Davis, director of the MSU Computer Center, said Doss is responsible for the storage space MSU gave him, whether or not he helped distribute the shirts. Davis said if Doss isn't using the space to host his Web site, then the matter is out of the university's hands.
RING President Erik Green said his organization wants to educate Doss and those involved to be sensitive to other's feelings and have them stop selling the shirts. He said RING members and the Residence Halls Association tried to contact the students. RING members then contacted the university after Doss' reaction to the issue.
"The charges are a moot point," Green said. "We had to start taking a different route to get to the goal."
Green said he and the other students who filed the charge would discuss the next action to be taken after meeting with university officials.
Alliance spokesman Ray Marcus said he was uncomfortable when he saw people wearing the shirt in his cafeteria.
"I wasn't sure what was going to happen," Marcus said. "I hurried up and finished my meal. Yes, everyone is entitled to free speech, but people also have to realize that words and phrases offend people."
