Millersville University has asked the regional counter-terrorism task force to provide security when William Ayers, a former militant anti-war activist, speaks at the university next month.

Area law enforcement officers are disturbed.

Speaking on their behalf, Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said law enforcement must provide security if the university requests it, "regardless of how we feel about an unrepentant terrorist."

However, he called MU's decision to invite Ayers "a remarkably irresponsible choice" and urged the university to consider alternatives, such as remote video, "which would provide a forum without the public safety risks or costs."

State Rep. John Bear, who was informed of the security plan by a local police officer, also teed off on the university. He said he shared the plan with the Lancaster County House Republicans and they also were "appalled."

"The fact that they even asked the anti-terrorism task force to be involved shows you they think this is going to be controversial, maybe even dangerous," he said. "Why would they even hold the event in the first place?"

The counter-terrorism task force was created in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The university has explained that Ayers' appearance here on March 19 is part of an initiative by the School of Education to revitalize its urban education program for future teachers. Ayers is a recognized authority in the field of urban education.

A professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Ayers  helped found the Weather Underground while in his 20s. The group protested the Vietnam War by bombing several public buildings in the 1970s.

Ayers, who has acknowledged participating in the bombing of the Capitol in 1971 and of the Pentagon in 1972, faced criminal charges, which were dropped.

Protests have been staged at other colleges where Ayers has spoken, especially since the media reported his association with President Barack Obama. Several colleges have canceled appearances, citing security concerns and costs.

Bear and Stedman criticized MU for  thinking about using a public agency and public funds to protect Ayers.

"I just think that it's absolutely wrong for the university to use public funds," said Bear. "The guy's a known terrorist. Using anti-terrorism funds to protect a known terrorist is irresponsible."

Stedman said, "Especially in these economic times, I believe it is unthinkable that any taxpayer money should be spent on a situation entirely created by choice, and I believe the university should pay for all costs."

MU spokesperson Janet Kacskos  stressed this morning that a final decision on how to pay for Ayers' security will be made Friday after the university's police chief gathers more information.

"We will know after that meeting if it's going to be a training exercise for the task force or if we'll need to pay for it," Kacskos said.

If MU does pay for the security, she added, the money will come from private funds, as is the $3,000 being used to pay Ayers for his talk.

The university has designated Kacskos, director of communications, as spokeswoman for all information related to Ayers.

Jerry Eckert, vice president for university advancement, declined to discuss the matter.

MU last asked for an off-campus police force to guard a speaker nine years ago. Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, had been threatened by several white supremacist groups and the Ku Klux Klan.

Twenty police officers from four local departments guarded Dees when he spoke at the university's three-day Conference on Violence in America. Officers used metal detectors to search the 800 people who attended.

An MU official who declined to be named said this morning that special security is needed for Ayers because "media attention, especially from electronic media" has prompted "calls that are not only vulgar but threatening."

Student safety, the official said, is "paramount in our minds."

The mission of the South Central Pennsylvania Regional Counter Terrorism Task Force, according to its Web site, is "to protect lives, social and economic infrastructure from terrorist threats or incidents."

The task force covers eight counties, including Lancaster.  It  operates under the guidance of the federal Department of Homeland Security.


Staff writer Jack Brubaker can be reached at jbrubaker@LNPnews.com or 291-8781.