Former neo-Nazi to speak at URI

02/10/04 - Under Tom "TJ" Leyden's clothes lie 29 mementos of his former life: tattoos of swastikas and other symbols formerly used by Nazi SS officers. However, Leyden uses these symbols not to recruit people to the neo-Nazi cause, as he did years ago, but instead to teach people across the country about hate.Leyden, who turned away from the neo-Nazi movement after seeing his son give a Nazi salute and use the word "nigger," according to his profile at http://www.campuspeak.com, will be speaking at the University of Rhode Island on Friday, Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. During his presentation entitled "Turning Away from Hate," Leyden will talk about his experiences as a member of the Hammerskin Nation, including beating up and harassing Latinos, African-Americans, homosexuals and Jews. He also speaks about the effects hate can have on people and shows the audience his racist tattoos.

The URI Tolerance Committee, formed by the office of the Vice President of Student Affairs in response to an anti-Semitic incident on campus last semester, is the organization responsible for bringing Leyden to campus. The committee was formed, Vice President of Student Affairs Tom Dougan said, in part to try to establish a "tolerance week," similar to diversity week. Dougan said he felt Leyden would have a positive effect on the URI community.

"He [Leyden] has got a very good reputation of relating extremely well to student audiences," Dougan said. "He's been on both sides of the issue."

Hall Director Michael Lapoint, a member of the committee, said he agreed with Dougan's sentiments.

"He had a pretty hardcore life, and he made a 180-degree turn...for the last 15 years he's really turned himself around," Lapoint said. "To see a person who can make that change would be interesting...he's not going to be a dry, boring speaker."

Lapoint said that Leyden would not only be speaking about the hate perpetrated by white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups, but hate in general as well. According to Leyden's profile, Leyden has spoken about hate to Time Magazine, President Bill Clinton's White House, law enforcement groups, the Pentagon and a commission formed by then-California governor Gray Davis.

"Seeing a guy like this will make people see what they're doing," Lapoint said. "[Leyden] will have a little bit more oomph."

Dougan said the university was trying to attract speakers like Leyden and plan other events through the tolerance committee to make the university community aware of the problem that hate can cause on campuses.

"We want to raise awareness of prejudice and hate...to make folks aware of what kind of damage hate can do," he said. "It [the committee] is...encouraging tolerance by everyone in the university community.