SOUTH KINGSTOWN — The College Republicans at the University of Rhode Island say their ad for a “White Heterosexual American Male” scholarship was just a satirical prank, intended to voice the group’s opposition to affirmative action.

The award — $100 — was a pittance in the world of college expenses, and there was no intention of actually giving out any money, says the Republican club’s chairman.

But the scholarship has drawn attention from more than the three dozen students who applied for it.

Among them is the Student Senate, which told the College Republicans last month to apologize for the ad and for handing out scholarship applications. Also interested is URI President Robert L. Carothers, who recently told the Senate to back off. Forcing the Republicans to apologize, or make statements that “are not their own,” could deny them their constitutional rights, he wrote in a recent memo to the student body.

As of yesterday, the Student Senate was standing its ground.

According to Ryan Bilodeau, chairman of the Republican club, the ad ran one time in the college newspaper, in November, and urged interested students to go to the club booth in the student union building, where scholarship applications were available for one day.

“The people who applied knew it was satirical,” he said.

Student Senate President Neil Leston said the student government got involved after a letter to the editor in the college paper suggested the ad was discriminatory and had violated the Senate’s bylaws. He said the number of students who applied for the scholarship — about 40 according to the Republican club — suggests that some people took the ad seriously.

“The big issue is they did not identify it as satire and that becomes problematic,” he said.

The Senate held hearings and then, in February, the Senate’s Organizations Advisory and Review Committee ruled that the College Republicans should be placed on probation and made to run a second ad, clarifying the intent of the first.

The Republicans appealed, but the Senate upheld the decision last month, telling the Republicans to publish an apology to people who applied and also publish a “brief and accurate description” of the regulations that prevent such a scholarship.

The Republicans did neither, prompting the eight-member Organizations Advisory and Review Committee this week to recommend the club for “de-recognition,” which would leave it without access to university facilities or student activities money. The club normally receives $250 year, not counting grants for special events, Bilodeau said.

A full Senate vote is expected Wednesday.

The vote is expected to draw attention from far beyond the URI community, in part because of Carothers’ memo and the questions it raises about free speech.

Dated April 6, the memo states that the controversy has spread “well beyond the URI campus” and “can no longer wait for a negotiated resolution.” It continues: “After a full review of the constitutional questions involved here, I must advise you that the action of the Student Senate to require the College Republicans to make certain representations that are clearly not their own … is a sanction that does not meet constitutional standards as laid forth in the First Amendment … You are hereby directed, therefore, that you may not impose any sanctions on the College Republicans, or any other student group, that requires them to make public statements which are not their own.”

Carothers could not be reached for comment yesterday but Thomas Dougan, vice president for student affairs, said the university has also met with some Senate members.

“We are concerned about the fundamental rights of individuals and students to free speech,” he said. “The university would never impede an individual’s ability to say what they believe.”

Bilodeau said the College Republicans believe they have been singled out for supporting conservative views, while other groups are encouraged to say what they want.

“Personally, I’m offended by the Karl Marx impersonator who came to the university in 2005,” he said. “Karl Marx’s policies caused the death of millions of people.”

Leston said he has not made up his mind which way to vote and was not sure whether the proposed sanction would amount to forced speech.

“I’m not familiar enough with the Constitution to make a comment on that,” he said. “We’re still evaluating, or at least I am.”

redgar@projo.com