A much-anticipated meeting between Iowa State President Martin Jischke and student free-speech advocates in Jischke’s office Thursday netted a surprise call for more meetings.

Jischke said he thought the meeting with representatives from The Coalition of Underrepresented Voices was supposed to focus on First Amendment rights. He said he was surprised to receive a document CURV sent him, which the representatives wished him to sign.

The document said both parties must agree to “meet and dialogue” regarding an attached list of goals and plans that the groups represented in CURV identified as important.

The document also stipulated that all meetings would incorporate a moderator. It said both parties agree to meet four more times this semester and continue meetings in the fall if necessary.

CURV comprises representatives from The Second Wave, Asian Pacific American Awareness Coalition, The September 29th Movement, Black Student Alliance, Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Allies Alliance, United Native American Student Association and People Understanding Disabilities.

The CURV members asked for the meeting because they said their “concerns are voiced in a void,” said Lisa Hermsen, spokeswoman for The Second Wave, a group formed “to defend the Bill of Rights.” She said the groups want a public arena where they are guaranteed to be heard.

Jischke said he would not sign the document, which he had received the day before the meeting, because it was open-ended and suggested that, according to the document, meetings with students might go on without end. He said words are important and precision is necessary.

Jischke said he is prepared to commit time to meeting and talking with the students. But he said he wants a prepared agenda before meetings and the option to consult with others freely on topics discussed before coming to any decision.

CURV representatives said they worked carefully as a group on the wording of the document.

Group members agreed to revise the document and to work on an agenda for the next meeting in cooperation with Dan Robinson, interim vice president for student affairs.

CURV representatives planned to have a neutral moderator from the Center for Creative Justice in Des Moines at the meeting. The moderator was not at the meeting because of an apparent misunderstanding. Center officials were invited by CURV, but, in order to remain neutral, the they also wanted an invitation from Jischke.

Jischke said he didn’t feel he needed to invite them. He said his understanding was that both parties could invite whomever they wanted to attend the meeting. He said he could not commit to inviting a moderator from the Center for Creative Justice because he is not familiar with the organization.

Aside from meeting details, a large part of the meeting consisted of what Ryan Sievers, a representative of LGBTA, called a “definitions game,” or more technicalities.

Paul Tanaka, the university’s lawyer, questioned CURV representatives’ use of the words “facilitator” and “mediator.” The legal difference between the words, he pointed out, is that a mediator has authority to make decisions and take action, while a facilitator cannot necessarily take any action.

“I’m here today in good faith,” Jischke said.

He said he is “prepared to discuss change” but is not committed to any specific change.

When asked if the meetings will just be talk, Jischke said, “I don’t know the answer to that.” He said it is hard to prejudge.

Jischke named three possible outcomes of Thursday’s meeting and future meetings. He said the dialogues could allow the parties to gain more understanding, come to an agreement or come to an understanding, which he said may be to “agree to disagree.”

Milton McGriff, a representative for The September 29th Movement, said, “We know we need some healing on our side.” He said he would like to hear something similar from administrators.

“When you have two sides that are having difficulty communicating, it’s not unusual to be frustrated,” Robinson said.

Sievers said the outcome of the meeting was not entirely what the group would have liked. Students were looking for something more tangible, he said, “but we have the potential to make this much more solid in the near future.”

Both sides have agreed to meet March 17 at 8 a.m. in Beardshear Hall.