The Democracy Caravan (democracycaravan.org) rolled into Iowa State this week to continue its ongoing mission to register voters and discuss with students the current state of democracy in the United States. Unfortunately, when we attempted to get permission to register citizens to vote in the lobby of Stephens Auditorium — where Henry Rollins was performing Nov. 19 — we were given the bureaucratic runaround and denied access to the venue. We were told in telephone conversations that “Mr. Rollins preferred not to have any groups at his events.”

That statement clearly did not reflect Mr. Rollins’ viewpoint, however. It was evident from his performance that he actively promotes students to register to vote as well as take a proactive stance toward participating in our country’s public discourse. We therefore would like to see a formal apology from the Committee on Lectures and the institution of a formal university policy allowing any groups registering citizens to vote direct access on campus at any public event or place of public gathering.

Benjamin D. Sher

Martha Sullivan

Carmichael, Calif.