Max Karson

Max Karson (born April 19, 1985) is a satirist and a psychology student at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was suspended on April 17, 2007 for remarks he made AbOUT the Virginia Tech massacre, but the suspension has since been lifted. Karson has written two self-published underground newspapers: The Yeti (while attending CU Boulder) and The Crux (while attending Amherst Regional High School).

The Crux controversy

While attending Amherst Regional High School in Amherst, Massachusetts, Karson was suspended four times for distributing The Crux on school grounds. Teachers were offended by The Newspaper when Karson wrote satirical articles about racism, homosexuality, masturbation, and [...] acts between students and administrators. The American Civil Liberties Union of Western Massachusetts defended Karson's right to publish and distribute The Crux arguing it was protected under the First Amendment, and by a state law passed in 1988 protecting students against administrative censorship (which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier the same year). The law protects all speech that isn't proven to be libelous, obscene or causes a disruption to classes. The administrators had argued the graphic material in the magazine violated the school's handbook's definition of obscenity as it described "nudity or [...] conduct in a way that most members of the community think clearly offensive". Karson argued that since the information was satirical, it was not intended to arouse the reader, and therefore was not obscene.

On October 8, 2002 a committee representing the High School voted 8-1 in favor of changing a policy requiring students to submit material for approval to school officials prior to distribution. Under the new policy prior submission was no longer required, but was "highly recommended". All of Karson's suspensions were retroactively overturned.

The Yeti controversy

After graduating from high school, Karson attended Colorado State University for a semester, following which he was out of school for two years. After his hiatus he enrolled at CU Boulder, and began publishing the underground newspaper, The Yeti. Though Karson claimed his writing was intended to be satirical, many were outraged by it, labeling it misogynistic and racist.

The University of Colorado Board of Regents and Vice Chancellor Ron Stump began receiving complaints. On October 19, 2006, Stump called Karson in to his office, verbally reprimanded him, and later told reporters he was "reviewing whether or not The Yeti is protected free speech".

Stump's remarks were published in the Colorado Daily, the Daily Camera, and Salon.com. This caught the attention of the Judd Golden, head of the Boulder ACLU, and Peter Boyles, a Denver-based talk show host. Golden wrote a letter to Stump expressing that the university was taking action that repressed free speech, and Boyles had Karson on his radio program. Stump was eventually forced to concede satire was legally protected under the First Amendment.

Controversial remarks regarding Virginia Tech Massacre

On April 17, 2007, during a discussion in a Journalism class, held in the Hazel Woodruff Gates Cottage that houses the Women and Gender Studies Department, Karson allegedly made several comments interpreted as threatening by other students. As paraphrased by Commander Brad Wiesley of the CU Boulder Police Department, Karson said he "would be capable of [...] 32 people" following with "if anyone in here says they've never been so angry that you wanted to kill 32 people, you're lying". Wiesley also told reporters "He [Karson] said that there were things about CU, the fact that the classroom walls were unpainted and the lighting in the classroom, were all things that were making him mad enough to do something." Wiesley continued "He [Karson] was admittedly angry about the 'mindless droves' on campus." Furthermore, when discussing ways to PReVENT events like the Virginia Tech massacre in the future, Wiesley said Karson talked about the "faults of the 'institution' and how someone could be driven to kill 32 people because of the injustices of universities".

An anonymous Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication told officers that Karson is "a student whom the department has had multiple problems with" and that he had "threatened his classmates."

Arrest and suspension

Later, Karson received a phone call from vice chancellor Ron Stump asking him to come to his office to answer questions. Immediately after Karson left Stump's, he was handcuffed by two police officers, and taken away to be questioned. Police told reporters that students reported Karson's comments at 1 p.m. (April 17, 2007), only a few hours after the class discussion occurred. Following an investigation, Karson was booked at the Boulder County Jail around 7 p.m. Karson was charged with one count of interference with staff, faculty or students of an educational institution—a class three misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $750 dollars and six months in prison—as his comments were portrayed as a threat.

The arrest report regarding the discussion and remarks made by Karson claimed the 30 students in the class were discussing the Virginia Tech massacre, and things became “heated” when Karson “claimed to understand what would drive someone to kill, especially on a college campus”.

University of Colorado spokesperson, Bronson Hilliard, later confirmed Karson had been “issued a summary suspension pending the outcome of a judicial-affairs review”. The suspension bans Karson from campus unless he has an appointment with university administrators or police.

Arraignment

Following a day of incarceration in the Boulder County Jail, Karson was arraigned April 18, 2007, with Judge Noel E. Blum presiding.

Karson's defense attorney Dan Williams, arguing that Karson has no criminal record, asked Blum that Karson be released on a personal recognizance bond for which Karson's father would co-sign, making him liable for its amount should his son fail to appear in court. The prosecution asked that Karson be issued a surety bond, requiring him to contact a professional bondsman to post bond upfront, arguing the remarks made during the class discussion were violent. The judge agreed with the defense, and set the bond at $1,000. Karson's father agreed to pay the bond.

As conditions of the bond, Blum told Karson he was not allowed to drink liquor, possess a weapon, could not visit the CU Boulder campus, and must undergo pre-trial supervision. These conditions upheld the suspension and prohibition decision by university administrators pending a review by the university's Judicial Affairs Department.

Post-release developments

Karson created a satirical video in which he himself is shot and posted it on YouTube. Following its initial posting, the video was marked as private.

Other students attending the class in which the comments were made have remarked that they didn't feel threatened by Karson's statements .

Max Karson's father, Professor Michael Karson of The University of Denver, has been very supportive of his son, and expects the charges against him will be dropped. He believes his son was only trying to argue against the demonization of Seung-Hui Cho stating "It's comforting to think he [Cho] was possessed, but Max was just saying we're all capable." Michael Karson added the massacre doesn't change anyone's First Amendment rights.

According to a text message Karson sent to a friend on the day of the massacre, he had planned to write an issue of The Yeti about how he could see "where he [Cho] was coming from," and thought he would be expelled for writing it. A Facebook community, "Free Max Karson," has been created to discuss his arrest.

There was a pretrial conference held for the case on May 30, 2007. On June 15, 2007, CU Boulder officials lifted Karson's ban from campus, though they claimed Karson had violated the University's code of conduct. The decision was upheld by a Boulder County judge on July 6, 2007. Karson may still face a misdemeanor charge of "interfering with staff, faculty and students of an educational institution."