Ward Churchill, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is in trouble because someone finally noticed an extreme essay he wrote right after 9-11, praising the attacks on the US. The trouble came when Churchill was invited to speak at Hamilton College, and someone did a little opposition research. Now the University of Colorado is planning to take action: http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2005/01/31/news/news01.txt
All 9 regents asked to hold a special emergency meeting on Thursday "to discuss our options."
"Regent Cindy Carlisle, a Boulder Democrat, said she is 'appalled' by Churchill's essay and said despite the issue being complex legally, 'something needs to be done.'"
The CU College Republicans, meanwhile, plan to hold a protest Tuesday Feb 1 and sign petitions demanding Churchill's firing.
But academic freedom demands otherwise, as the CU Chancellor correctly noted: "While I may personally find his views offensive, I also must support his right as an American citizen to hold and express his views, no matter how repugnant, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution," Interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano said.
We'll see if the CU regents are willing to obey the Constitution and academic freedom, or if they will seek to fire Churchill for his idiotic views.