Wisconsin Rep. Hopes to Detour Contentious Colo. Prof
by Jim Brown
February 17, 2005
(AgapePress) - A lawmaker and alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is urging the school to cancel a speaking appearance by a controversial professor who compared the 9-11 victims to Nazi war criminals.University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill ignited a national furor by condemning 9-11 victims as "little Eichmanns" and praising the terrorists who delivered that attack for their "gallant sacrifices." Because of those controversial statements -- and others he has pronounced during public speaking engagements -- Churchill has drawn the ire of Colorado Governor Bill Owens, who has urged the university to fire the controversial lecturer; and of the Colorado House, which passed a non-binding resolution earlier this month that describes his comments as "evil and inflammatory."
Earlier this month, a college in upstate New York canceled a speech by Churchill because of death threats against him and school administrations. Now Churchill is slated to speak at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in March 1. But State Representative Steve Nass has sponsored a joint resolution to revoke the school's invitation. Whitewater officials have defended the scheduled appearance on First Amendment grounds. But Nass believes Churchill's brand of speech crosses the line and should not be protected on a university campus.
Nass says UW-Whitewater is hiding behind free speech and academic freedom. "Free speech doesn't carry the day because the professor could come to Whitewater and speak anywhere in Whitewater -- and he would have his free speech," the state lawmaker says.
"[But] the university is paid for and funded by taxpayer dollars, and it doesn't have to extend this invitation to Churchill to speak. To me that basically condones the type of reckless speech and hateful speech that he has spewed," says Nass.
"There is point of free speech, but then there is also hate speech," the representative adds, "and that is what I am getting at with the resolution."
Nass also has a recommendation for institutions of higher learning in his state: "The university system should review their hiring and firing policies to make sure that if we get an individual such as Ward Churchill in Wisconsin, it would be easier to remove that person when they say things that ... use this extreme language."
Nass is skeptical Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle will intervene because professors and administrators in the UW system are his political base -- and the governor, he adds, does not want to "ruffle the feathers" of that base.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
