Revolutions Books representative Mark Brier was barred from campus last month while distributing Revolution, a newspaper published by the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). Campus police received a complaint from two anonymous witnesses that Brier was handing out flyers and other solicitation documents in front of Usdan Student Center, Director of Public Safety Edward Callahan said.Callahan said the University prohibits solicitation without permission as well as trespassing without "explicit business." In accordance with University Public Safety protocol, Brier was asked to leave and given a verbal trespassing warning, Callahan said. Brier was also issued a written warning against trespassing and solicitation on campus, which threatened him with arrest if he returns to campus.

Brier told the Justice he had been on the Brandeis campus before, but this most recent incident was the first time he had been asked to leave. While he was unsure of who filed the complaint against him, Brier said he remembered one student who asked for a copy of Revolution and then ripped it up in front of him.

"There's this attempt to shut down intellectual discourse on college campuses," Brier said. "Students need to have a say on these policies."

When asked if he planned to return to campus, Brier said he felt students should decide. "I think it's up to the students to invite me," he said. "They should determine what's allowed to be discussed on their campus."

Callahan said he had no knowledge of the content or nature of the publication being distributed.

"The content of the solicitation has no effect on the action taken," he said.

Brandeis Radical Student Alliance (RSA) member Josh Russell '06 said he also believes students should have a say in University procedures.

"I think [expulsion policies] should be decided entirely by the students," he said. "All policies regarding things that directly affect the students ... should be decided by the students democratically."

However, Russell said he was happy to learn of Brier's expulsion because he finds Brier's organization "manipulative" and "cult-like," and was worried the campus would associate the RCP's agenda with that of the RSA.

"The way [RCP members] harass people on our campus is invasive," he said. "It's not just that they have loony political beliefs, it's that they're aggressive and intruding with their political beliefs."

The Revolutionary Communist Party is a national organization with headquarters in Chicago. Ben O'Leary works at Revolution Books in Cambridge, a local branch of the organization. He said he was well accustomed to this sort of situation.

"We're trying to reach out in all different directions. Just given the nature of the paper, and the nature of the world around us, these things are going to happen.