Morpheus
9th February 2005, 04:35
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?...050208094647750 (http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20050208094647750)
Open Call to Support Ward Churchill
DEFEND WARD CHURCHILL and ACADEMIC FREEDOM
On February 3rd, the University of Colorado placed
tenured Ethnic Studies professor Ward Churchill, a
radical scholar affiliated with AIM (the American
Indian Movement), under a 30 day review – the first
legal step toward firing him. This is the result of a
right-wing attack on Churchill, which was initiated by
conservative students at Hamilton College in upstate
New York who objected to some of his views in his
essay on 9/11 called "Some People Push Back: On the
Justice of Roosting Chickens." In it, Churchill
compares the "technocrats" of the finance and banking
industry who were killed in the World Trade Center to
Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi bureaucrat who helped organize
the concentration camp system.
The essay is online at the link below, and has been
widely quoted out of context by the media; in
particular it is claimed that he included janitors,
firefighters, medics, etc. in his metaphor about
Eichmann, which is untrue. We encourage everyone to
read his words for themselves.
Right-wing media such as FOX picked up on the story.
His talk, ironically at a forum on the "Limits of
Dissent," was cancelled after death threats were
received. Although he has stepped down as co-chair of
his department, he has refused to resign.
THE DANGER CHURCHILL’S DISMISSAL PRESENTS
Churchill has long been an controversial figure and
his comments on 9/11 were meant to be inflammatory and
to encourage discussion about why the massacre
occurred, as well as to dispute the way it has been
cast by the Bush administration and others. To focus
on the specifics of what Churchill said or wrote
misses the point. The possibility of his removal is
disturbing for multiple reasons:
1) Freedom of Speech. This is an basic First Amendment
freedom of speech issue. To lose one’s job over the
use of metaphors and hyperbole, especially in relation
to discussion of an important political issue, is
state censorship. Churchill’s removal will accelerate
the loss of basic access to freedom of speech, which
the PATRIOT Act has already degraded.
2) Tenure and Academic Freedom. Churchill is a tenured
professor, and the tenure system is designed
specifically to prevent this kind of instance from
occurring. The CU/Boulder Philosophy Department
faculty issued this statement:
"The recent controversy over Ward Churchill's essay
should not obscure the fact that the precise purpose
of the tenure system is to secure the ability of
university professors to argue the most unpopular of
cases, in the face of the most heated public
sentiment. We urge the Regents to honor that system in
its consideration of this case, and not to take any
action that would threaten Professor Churchill's job
or chill the free expression of thought that is so
vital within a university community."
Churchill’s removal will be a blow against the
intellectual freedoms the tenure system was set to
ensure.
3) The Suppression of Dissent. This is a clear attempt
to repress voices which offer critical views on the
current US mindset and policy. The Bush administration
has made 9/11 into its justification for global war.
Churchill’s potential removal from his position for
offering an opposing viewpoint – despite ironclad
legal protections from the Constitution and the tenure
system – will set a terrible precedent. It could open
the door to a new wave of government repression. The
state will be able fire its critics and opponents not
just in the universities, but in all government jobs,
and in even in private sector companies which hold
government contracts. This could harbor a return to
the McCarthy era and the criminalization of dissent.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
The governors of both Colorado and New York have
publicly slandered Churchill as a "bigoted terrorist.’
The Colorado governor has called on him to resign, and
the State Senate passed a resolution condemning him.
CU-Boulder is obviously being pressured to remove
Churchill; their Board of Regents have forced CU
Interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano initiate the 30 day
review period. DiStefano will be assisted by Todd
Gleeson (Arts and Sciences Dean) and David Getches
(Law Dean). After the period has ended, they will
report back to the regents, who will then make a
recommendation to CU President Betsy Hoffman, who
holds the power to make a final decision.
We call on people to send call, email and/or write
letters to pressure the Interim Chancellor, the Board
of Regents and President of CU-Boulder to keep
Churchill. Below is their contact information and
other links:
"Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting
Chickens"
(many other relevant links are here as well):
http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/s11/churchill.html
CNN Interview where Churchill speaks at length to
clarify his statements
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0502/04/pzn.01.html
CU/Boulder philosophy Department statement:
http://www.coloradopeace.org/2005/WardChurchill/
American Association of University Professors
statement:
http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/s11/churchill_aaup.html
Additional commentary
http://www.pressaction.com/news
Please try to keep messages short and maintain a
polite tone. Chancellor DiStefano, for instance,
initially defended Churchill but has been forced by
the Board of Regents to instigate the review.
30 Day Review Board:
Phil DiStefano
Interim Chancellor
17 UCB, Regent 301
Boulder, CO, 80309
(303) 492-8908
[email protected]
David Getches
Law Dean
University of Colorado School of Law
208 Fleming Law Building, 401 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309
(303) 492-4475
[email protected]
[email protected]
Todd. T. Gleeson
Arts & Sciences Dean
275 UCB, College of Arts & Sciences
Boulder, CO 80309
(303) 492-3106
(303) 492-7294
fax (303) 492-4009
[email protected]
University of Colorado System President
Elizabeth Hoffman
35 SYS, Office of the President
Boulder, CO 80309
[email protected]
(303) 492-6201
Board of Regents
Jerry G. Rutledge, Chair
2745 Springmede Court
Colorado Springs, CO 80906-3716
(719) 527-8868
fax (719) 632-7694
[email protected]
Gail Schwartz, Vice Chair
P.O. Box 6578
Snowmass Village, CO 81615
(970) 925-3013
fax (970) 544-4632
[email protected]
Steve Bosley
P.O. Box 270509
Louisville, CO 80027
(303) 604-2313
fax (303) 604-2313
[email protected]
Cindy Carlisle
411 Spruce Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 444-2606
fax 303-444-0057
[email protected]
Michael Carrigan
555 Seventeenth Street, Suite 3200
Denver, CO 80202
(303)-295-8314
fax (303) 975-5489
[email protected]
Patricia Hayes
12575 East Bates Circle
Aurora, CO 80014
(303) 369-0054
fax (303) 740-8409
[email protected]
Tom Lucero
P.O. Box 921
Johnstown, CO 80534
(970) 978-1142
fax (970) 587-0920)
[email protected]
Paul Schauer
7255 South Jackson Court
Centennial, CO 80122
(303) 770-3872
[email protected]
Peter Steinhauer
7492 Spring Drive
Boulder, CO 80303
(303) 499-1278
fax (303) 543-2351
[email protected]
Open Call to Support Ward Churchill
DEFEND WARD CHURCHILL and ACADEMIC FREEDOM
On February 3rd, the University of Colorado placed
tenured Ethnic Studies professor Ward Churchill, a
radical scholar affiliated with AIM (the American
Indian Movement), under a 30 day review – the first
legal step toward firing him. This is the result of a
right-wing attack on Churchill, which was initiated by
conservative students at Hamilton College in upstate
New York who objected to some of his views in his
essay on 9/11 called "Some People Push Back: On the
Justice of Roosting Chickens." In it, Churchill
compares the "technocrats" of the finance and banking
industry who were killed in the World Trade Center to
Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi bureaucrat who helped organize
the concentration camp system.
The essay is online at the link below, and has been
widely quoted out of context by the media; in
particular it is claimed that he included janitors,
firefighters, medics, etc. in his metaphor about
Eichmann, which is untrue. We encourage everyone to
read his words for themselves.
Right-wing media such as FOX picked up on the story.
His talk, ironically at a forum on the "Limits of
Dissent," was cancelled after death threats were
received. Although he has stepped down as co-chair of
his department, he has refused to resign.
THE DANGER CHURCHILL’S DISMISSAL PRESENTS
Churchill has long been an controversial figure and
his comments on 9/11 were meant to be inflammatory and
to encourage discussion about why the massacre
occurred, as well as to dispute the way it has been
cast by the Bush administration and others. To focus
on the specifics of what Churchill said or wrote
misses the point. The possibility of his removal is
disturbing for multiple reasons:
1) Freedom of Speech. This is an basic First Amendment
freedom of speech issue. To lose one’s job over the
use of metaphors and hyperbole, especially in relation
to discussion of an important political issue, is
state censorship. Churchill’s removal will accelerate
the loss of basic access to freedom of speech, which
the PATRIOT Act has already degraded.
2) Tenure and Academic Freedom. Churchill is a tenured
professor, and the tenure system is designed
specifically to prevent this kind of instance from
occurring. The CU/Boulder Philosophy Department
faculty issued this statement:
"The recent controversy over Ward Churchill's essay
should not obscure the fact that the precise purpose
of the tenure system is to secure the ability of
university professors to argue the most unpopular of
cases, in the face of the most heated public
sentiment. We urge the Regents to honor that system in
its consideration of this case, and not to take any
action that would threaten Professor Churchill's job
or chill the free expression of thought that is so
vital within a university community."
Churchill’s removal will be a blow against the
intellectual freedoms the tenure system was set to
ensure.
3) The Suppression of Dissent. This is a clear attempt
to repress voices which offer critical views on the
current US mindset and policy. The Bush administration
has made 9/11 into its justification for global war.
Churchill’s potential removal from his position for
offering an opposing viewpoint – despite ironclad
legal protections from the Constitution and the tenure
system – will set a terrible precedent. It could open
the door to a new wave of government repression. The
state will be able fire its critics and opponents not
just in the universities, but in all government jobs,
and in even in private sector companies which hold
government contracts. This could harbor a return to
the McCarthy era and the criminalization of dissent.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
The governors of both Colorado and New York have
publicly slandered Churchill as a "bigoted terrorist.’
The Colorado governor has called on him to resign, and
the State Senate passed a resolution condemning him.
CU-Boulder is obviously being pressured to remove
Churchill; their Board of Regents have forced CU
Interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano initiate the 30 day
review period. DiStefano will be assisted by Todd
Gleeson (Arts and Sciences Dean) and David Getches
(Law Dean). After the period has ended, they will
report back to the regents, who will then make a
recommendation to CU President Betsy Hoffman, who
holds the power to make a final decision.
We call on people to send call, email and/or write
letters to pressure the Interim Chancellor, the Board
of Regents and President of CU-Boulder to keep
Churchill. Below is their contact information and
other links:
"Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting
Chickens"
(many other relevant links are here as well):
http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/s11/churchill.html
CNN Interview where Churchill speaks at length to
clarify his statements
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0502/04/pzn.01.html
CU/Boulder philosophy Department statement:
http://www.coloradopeace.org/2005/WardChurchill/
American Association of University Professors
statement:
http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/s11/churchill_aaup.html
Additional commentary
http://www.pressaction.com/news
Please try to keep messages short and maintain a
polite tone. Chancellor DiStefano, for instance,
initially defended Churchill but has been forced by
the Board of Regents to instigate the review.
30 Day Review Board:
Phil DiStefano
Interim Chancellor
17 UCB, Regent 301
Boulder, CO, 80309
(303) 492-8908
[email protected]
David Getches
Law Dean
University of Colorado School of Law
208 Fleming Law Building, 401 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309
(303) 492-4475
[email protected]
[email protected]
Todd. T. Gleeson
Arts & Sciences Dean
275 UCB, College of Arts & Sciences
Boulder, CO 80309
(303) 492-3106
(303) 492-7294
fax (303) 492-4009
[email protected]
University of Colorado System President
Elizabeth Hoffman
35 SYS, Office of the President
Boulder, CO 80309
[email protected]
(303) 492-6201
Board of Regents
Jerry G. Rutledge, Chair
2745 Springmede Court
Colorado Springs, CO 80906-3716
(719) 527-8868
fax (719) 632-7694
[email protected]
Gail Schwartz, Vice Chair
P.O. Box 6578
Snowmass Village, CO 81615
(970) 925-3013
fax (970) 544-4632
[email protected]
Steve Bosley
P.O. Box 270509
Louisville, CO 80027
(303) 604-2313
fax (303) 604-2313
[email protected]
Cindy Carlisle
411 Spruce Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 444-2606
fax 303-444-0057
[email protected]
Michael Carrigan
555 Seventeenth Street, Suite 3200
Denver, CO 80202
(303)-295-8314
fax (303) 975-5489
[email protected]
Patricia Hayes
12575 East Bates Circle
Aurora, CO 80014
(303) 369-0054
fax (303) 740-8409
[email protected]
Tom Lucero
P.O. Box 921
Johnstown, CO 80534
(970) 978-1142
fax (970) 587-0920)
[email protected]
Paul Schauer
7255 South Jackson Court
Centennial, CO 80122
(303) 770-3872
[email protected]
Peter Steinhauer
7492 Spring Drive
Boulder, CO 80303
(303) 499-1278
fax (303) 543-2351
[email protected]