U. of Ill. denies William Ayers emeritus status

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

U. of Ill. denies William Ayers emeritus status
By DAVID MERCER
The Associated Press
Thursday, September 23, 2010; 9:03 PM

URBANA, Ill. -- The University of Illinois on Thursday denied 1960s radical William Ayers emeritus faculty status after trustees Chairman Christopher Kennedy noted Ayers dedicated a book to, among others, the man who killed Kennedy's father, Robert F. Kennedy.

All nine voting trustees either opposed granting Ayers, a recently retired University of Illinois-Chicago professor, the largely honorary status or abstained from the vote. Universities often grant emeritus status to distinguished retired faculty members. At Illinois it doesn't come with any monetary benefits, spokesman Tom Hardy said.

Ayers co-founded the Weather Underground, an anti-war group held responsible for a series of bombings during the Vietnam War era, including nonfatal explosions at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol.

Trustees voted after a speech by Kennedy in which he noted the 1974 book "Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism," by Ayers and other members of the Weather Underground. The book includes a dedication to a lengthy list of revolutionary figures, musicians and others, including Sirhan Sirhan, who shot Robert Kennedy to death in 1968 after the New York senator declared victory in the California Democratic presidential primary.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/23/AR2010092306529.html

[FrenchieCat]

1. well, that's that.

Sirhan Sirhan in a book dedication would guarantee such a vote, IMO.

I guess that the RW will make it be that Obama murdered JFK.
I wouldn't doubt that.

[aikoaiko]

2. For a radical, this is a better outcome.

Makes for better cocktail party conversation.

[Radical Activist]

13. True.

And he's living a pretty comfortable life when he could have ended up in prison for decades.

[Unvanguard]

3. What silly posturing. n/t

[babylonsister]

4. I imagine Ayers doesn't care as long as he gets his pension. nt

[mopinko]

17. he doesn't need the pension, i don't think.

his family is rolling in dough. not sure where that dough is, exactly, these days, but he has been giving away a lot of money to a lot of good causes for a long time.
suppose he is pretty sorry he ever met obama, tho.

[bluestateguy]

5. Is he really all that great of a scholar?

I always thought emeritus was for distinguished senior scholars who made a real contributions to their fields.

Did he?

[EFerrari]

7. He was brillaint, yes. n/t

[24601]

15. Brilliant? Perhaps compared to Timothy McVeigh who was

executed for Murder in connection with Bombing a federal building. "Ayers participated in the bombings of New York City Police Department headquarters in 1970, the United States Capitol building in 1971, and the Pentagon in 1972, as he noted in his 2001 book, Fugitive Days." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers

What makes a terrorist is the intent for the methodology employed, not the underlying political motivation.

He wasn't brilliant but lucky that charges were dropped after FBI misconduct.

In retrospect, perhaps we should presume Tim McVeigh also would have been sorry many years after the fact had he been sentenced to life. With all that time on his hands in supermax, he might have earned a few degrees and educated children online. Then we could call him a distinguished educator too.

Lest anyone say "nobody died", here's the rest: "After the Greenwich Village townhouse explosion in 1970, in which Weatherman member Ted Gold, Ayers' close friend Terry Robbins, and Ayers' girlfriend, Diana Oughton were killed when a bomb being assembled in the house exploded."

Brilliant is peaceful change through elections. Bombing your Capitol is Dogshit stupid (and Chickenshit coward).

[EFerrari]

19. The question was about his scholarship. Maybe you should start a thread

about how much you resent Bill Ayers. It could be therapeutic.

[merqz]

22. Was it?

If the article is correct, and he was denied emeritus status, at least in part because of his dedication to Sirhan Sirhan... then you are wrong. The question is not JUST about his scholarship.

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. Yes

[Fool Count]

14. In most universities "emeritus" is just a courtesy title granted to most, if not all,

retired professors and does not imply any special distinction.

[Gman]

6. But witchcraft a few years ago by a potential United States Senator is Ok

Again, there is no logic. It's all about saying whatever is convenient at the moment.

[boppers]

8. Dedicate a book to a man who murders a future trustee's father...

Karma's funny that way.

[depakid]

11. +1

[Yupster]

16. Years ago at a parole hearing, Sirhan said

that if RFK were alive today, he would support Sirhan's parole.

Talk about your bad luck.

There's only one guy in America who support you, and oh man, you shot him.

[Tatiana]

18. I was thinking the very same thing. What are the odds?

How ironic that Chris Kennedy became CHAIRMAN of the board of trustees at U of I.

Ayers lives a very nice and comfortable life. This won't hurt him one bit.

[madrchsod]

9. i doubt he cares all that much about this status....

who knows if he still believes what he wrote in 1974. he`s mellowed but he`s has never changed his belief in changing the status quo.

[The Magistrate]

12. In Those Days, Sir, There Was Not Much On Two Legs Lamer Than A Weatherman....

[madrchsod]

20. as a former sds member i agree....

one thing that has bothered me since 1969...why was the chicago sds printing pamphlets in russian.and who gave them a brand new printing press...
:shrug:

[The Magistrate]

21. That One Is Beyond Me, Sir

But the 'Days of Rage' was a last straw for a lot of us local types: it brought police trouble no one needed.