ANN ARBOR, MI - The University of Michigan has received a request to reserve a venue to have controversial white nationalist speaker Richard Spencer speak on campus.

UM Spokesman Rick Fitzgerald confirmed Tuesday, Oct. 31, that Cameron Padgett, a representative from Spencer's National Policy Institute, sent the university an email request seeking to reserve a venue.

Padgett indicated there was flexibility with the date, Fitgerald noted. An individual does not need to be associated with a university to request a space for a speaker.

"The university will carefully consider this request, paying close attention to the safety and security of our community," Fitzgerald said.

Spencer's National Policy Institute recently was denied a request to speak at Michigan State University and has since sued the university in federal court. The National Policy Institute had requested MSU host Spencer at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in mid-September. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Padgett, a 23-year-old student at Georgia State University who organizes campus visits for the institute's president, Richard Spencer.

University President Lou Anna Simon denied the request, made in July, after consulting with MSU's police department, "which had concluded, in the light of the incidents in Charlottesville, it was highly likely there would be violence if Mr. Spencer were permitted to appear on campus on September 15," the university said in a court filing. "MSU's decision, therefore, was not content based."

MSU's denial was made following a rally in Charlottesville, Va., during which protesters rallied against plans by the city to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

Spencer spoke at the rally, which later turned violent, with clashes between the white nationalists and counter protesters. One woman died and 19 were injured when a man with views sympathetic to Nazis plowed his car into a group of counter protesters.

On Oct. 19, Spencer was heckled by those in attendance while speaking at the University of Florida, fueling the ongoing debate about what constitutes protected speech.

In September, University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel said a balance must be struck when considering free speech on campus while assuring students, faculty, staff and the community remain safe.

In an interview with The Ann Arbor News, Schlissel said safety is the driver of discussions when potential requests from speakers come in.

"We wouldn't look at the content of the speech, but we'd consider with the speaker, how to manage the time, place and manner of the speech in a legal fashion that allows a person to get their ideas out, but also does as much as we can to assure the physical safety of community," Schlissel said. "So it's hard. We talk a lot about how we'd approach certain scenarios, and we'll have to see."

UM recently hosted controversial author Charles Murray, who was met with chants, music, intentionally annoying cell phone sounds, an overhead projector displaying an arrow pointing to him along with the words "white supremacist," and hostile questions from students during his visit to the University of Michigan on Wednesday, Oct. 11.

Murray, who has drawn criticism for his views on the role of IQ shaping America's class structure in his 1994 book "The Bell Curve," spoke in Palmer Commons on the UM campus.

Many of the protesters made their way to Palmer Commons to get in line early for a chance to demonstrate in front of Murray. The event - which was limited to UM students and faculty - featured tight, abundant security at the doors and at the entrance of the venue where Murray spoke.