The Speak Up, Speak Out committee defended itself against an accusation of ideological discrimination, saying its panels are all required to have diversity of opinion.

"The idea that there's some kind of single point of view we promote is just logistically impossible, given the setup," said Merlyn Mowrey, the Speak Up, Speak Out committee chairwoman and philosophy and religion associate professor.

The forum series committee received a complaint in August by Dennis Lennox II, a Topinabee senior, who alleged discrimination by the series and claimed he was "not invited to participate" because of his conservative political viewpoints.

On Aug. 21, Lennox filed the complaint with the CMU Affirmative Action office on behalf of Campus Conservatives, a registered student organization of which he is the spokesman.

Lennox claims Speak Up, Speak Out violated the university's Nondiscrimination Policy by under-representing the conservative viewpoint in forums this fall and past semesters.

"It's always the same usual suspects that are involved in these forums," Lennox said. "The same couple liberal faculty members from the political science department."

College Republicans and College Democrats are represented on the first fall panel this semester. A student representative from each party's campus chapter sits on the panel, according to the promotional flier.

The event, "Un-spin that sound bite! Let's analyze the campaign," takes place at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Bovee University Center Auditorium.

College Republicans were asked to send someone on Aug. 25, said Nathan Inks, Lincoln Park sophomore and College Republicans representative on the panel.

That's four days before Jeannie Jackson, the CMU Affirmative Action officer, responded to Lennox's complaint on Aug. 29, asking for a meeting.

"I'd love to have another conservative voice on the panel," Inks said. "But if we open it up to student organizations other than just the College Democrats or the College Republicans, we're going to wind up with a panel of 20 people."

Students for Obama and the Gay/Straight Alliance, among other political groups, all have an ideological message to get across this election season, Inks said.

"Personally, I think he's just trying to get in the news again," panel member Karl Bouwhuis, Lowell senior and College Democrats president, said about Lennox.

"(Speak Up, Speak Out) are just trying to keep things simple," Bouwhuis said. "I don't think it's a case of discrimination in any way, shape or form."

Mowrey said she spoke to Lennox last year in Anspach Hall, and he requested Campus Conservatives be allowed to participate. She invited Lennox and other members to attend, but not necessarily as a panel member.

Student panelists must be critical thinkers, knowledgeable, civil, well-spoken and comfortable in front of a crowd, Mowrey said. Facilitators generally seek qualified students through faculty networking.

Each two-and-a-half hour panel is typically more audience-driven than speaker-driven, she said. The purpose is to engage in a "town hall-like" discussion where everyone is welcome.

Lennox said he has lobbied for the past two years to be on a panel. He denied that filing a complaint was a "drastic" move.

He acknowledged that forums often have a conservative panelist, but called it a "token conservative perspective" from someone who "nobody's ever heard of before."

Campus Conservatives President and Lambertville junior Chase Canning and Vice President and Wyoming sophomore John Klumpp both said they had no prior knowledge of the complaint.

"This isn't about me," Lennox said. "This is about ensuring that all CMU students have an equal opportunity to taxpayer-funded events and forums."

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