CHICAGO — After Kevin Barrett started talking about a class he planned to teach this fall on Islam, the little-known lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found himself in the middle of a fierce political battle between the school and state politicians.
Barrett told a Milwaukee talk show host in June that he believed that the U.S. government used "controlled demolitions with explosives" on Sept. 11 to bring down the World Trade Center buildings and later said that the idea of a hijacked plane hitting the Pentagon was "preposterous." He plans to discuss these beliefs over one week of the 15-week course for undergraduate students.
"The rest of the world believes that the towers were brought down by terrorist actions. Taxpayers are spending $1 billion a year on the University of Wisconsin, and my office is being flooded with calls and e-mails by people who are furious that their dollars are going to be spent teaching such falsehoods," Nass said. "If the university doesn't do something to stop this, then lawmakers will step in and try to deal with it."
School officials say they have no reason to oust Barrett because free speech protects academic freedom.
"We cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas," said Patrick Farrell, the school's provost. "The university is one of the chief financial engines of this state. It's short-sighted to handicap that engine just because legislators are annoyed with the views of one of our employees."
more:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-academic25jul25,0,3617428.story?coll=la-home-nationNow, does anyone still think that academic freedom still isn't under attack in the US? What sort of example will it take to convince you?
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
