supporting Ward Churchill and academic freedom

"...freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth."
Justice Louis D. Brandeis
Larkin vs. State of California, 1927

Recently there has been a flare of controversy at both Hamilton College and the University of Colorado (at Boulder) regarding an essay by Ward Churchill, a professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado. This controversy was precipitated by some of the survivors and the family members of victims of 9/11/01 when an essay of his (addressing the government of the US and the 9/11 tragedy) was found on the web before he was to give a lecture for the Kirkland Project (some discussion on the Hamilton end is ongoing including an ill-timed "review" of the KirklandProject); unfortunately, as he eloquently states in his press release, Churchill's words were taken out of context & soiled with a degree of emotionality alien (but not unreasonable or without cause) to academic discourse and to the bare facts. Moreover, it is clear by the chancellor's & governor's statements (and admittedly the chancellor is performing a good deal of damage control here) that some people would choose to condemn Churchill without trying to understand or even read his essay (click here to read Churchill's essay) but at least he is being given due process rather than the simple boot. The Board of Regents of the university held a special meeting recently addressing academic freedom and whether Churchill, according to its by-laws, should be dismissed (for some information on academic freedom at Colorado and for updates on the meeting, click here). Hopefully they will follow their by-laws and the advice of the American Association of University Professors.

Academic freedom (and other issues surrounding freedom of expression) have long been of some issue and particularly so with the political climate as it is and the introduction of the Patriot Act. Hopefully Mr. Churchill's ordeal does not become another black spot on the shiny road toward liberty & freedom that we hear so much about these days.

more on academic freedom:
Students for Academic Freedom
American Association of University Professors on Academic Freedom & Tenure
Collegefreedom.org
Human Rights Watch - Academic Freedom Initiative
Academic Freedom in the USA (one lawyer's take on what is & is not academic freedom)
Academic Freedom Lecture Fund (lectures available online in streaming video)
Council for Academic Freedom and Academic Standards [UK]
Committee on Academic Freedom on the Middle East and North Africa