Posted on 05/19/2005 5:48:03 AM PDT by Land_of_Lincoln_John
CHICAGO, May 18, 2005—DePaul University administrators have suspended Professor Thomas Klocek without a hearing after he engaged in an out-of-class argument with pro-Palestinian students at a student activities fair. When the students complained to administrators, Klocek was denied the rights that DePaul guarantees to professors accused of wrongdoing and immediately suspended. Statements from DePaul administrators indicate that Klocek was disciplined because of his harsh criticism of the students’ viewpoint, despite DePaul’s stated commitments to free speech and academic freedom.
“DePaul has unquestionably violated Professor Klocek’s due process rights, and the university did so because his statements were allegedly offensive,” commented David French, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which wrote to DePaul on Klocek’s behalf.
The incident in question occurred on September 15, 2004, when Professor Klocek engaged in conversation with students representing Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and United Muslims Moving Ahead (UMMA). According to the DePaulia student newspaper and other sources, during the debate, Klocek cited a Chicago Sun-Times article that quoted the general manager of the Al-Arabiya television network as saying, “It is a certain fact that not all Muslims are terrorists, but it is equally certain, and exceptionally painful, that almost all terrorists are Muslims.” A heated but strictly verbal argument ensued during which Klocek argued that a Christian viewpoint, in addition to Muslim or Jewish ones, should be considered in discussing Israel and Palestine. According to Klocek, SJP and UMMA students (several of whom had gathered around Professor Klocek) made their own controversial statements comparing Israeli Jews to Nazis. The argument concluded when Klocek walked away from the SJP and UMMA tables and thumbed his chin at the students in what he believed to be an Italian hand gesture meaning “I’m outta here.”
The offended students complained to DePaul administrators, who moved quickly to punish Professor Klocek for his part in the argument. Klocek reports that on September 24, 2004, Dean of the School of New Learning Susanne Dumbleton informed him that the university had received letters of complaint from SJP and UMMA students and had met with the students and their faculty advisors the previous evening. Dumbleton immediately suspended Klocek with pay and ordered him to stay off campus. Klocek was never given a copy of the complaint letters, nor was he given a hearing or any other chance to face his accusers before his suspension.
In an October 8 letter to the DePaulia about the university’s actions, Dumbleton explained, “The students’ perspective was dishonored and their freedom demeaned. Individuals were deeply insulted…. Our college acted immediately by removing the instructor from the classroom.” Dumbleton also made several other comments indicating that DePaul was primarily concerned with the content of Klocek’s remarks. On November 10, Klocek finally received a letter confirming his punishment and stating that he would be able to teach only one class the following semester, and that the class would be subject to observation.
Klocek’s suspension violated DePaul’s own policies guaranteeing academic freedom as well as its contractual promises of basic due process. Klocek was suspended without a hearing, which DePaul policies say can only be done in an “emergency.” Though DePaul now claims that the argument created the “emergency” conditions necessary for an immediate suspension, the university waited a full nine days before acting against Klocek—hardly the response of a school in the grip of an “emergency” situation.
“If DePaul professors aren’t worried about this situation, they should be,” remarked Greg Lukianoff, FIRE’s director of legal and public advocacy. “Due process is most important in cases like Klocek’s in which facts need to be sorted through and in which punishment can be severe and career-ending. By refusing Professor Klocek a hearing at such a crucial juncture, DePaul threw its stated commitments to basic procedural rights out the window and missed an opportunity to discover what actually took place.”
On March 24, 2005, FIRE wrote DePaul’s president, Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, on Professor Klocek’s behalf. FIRE asked the university to honor its own commitments and reminded DePaul that “[i]f every person had the power to punish those who expressed ideas they found offensive, we would all soon be reduced to silence.” President Holtschneider responded, saying this was not a matter of academic freedom and that “the university acted to address threatening and unprofessional behavior.” He also noted that Klocek had refused to pursue the university’s grievance process. This response contradicts Dean Dumbleton’s original justification for the school’s punishment. Furthermore, the grievance process available to Professor Klocek does not have the authority to restore his position.
FIRE’s French remarked, “While DePaul may now argue that the issue is one of professionalism, its public statements at the time of Klocek’s punishment make it clear that Klocek’s real crime was offending students during an out-of-class discussion of a controversial and emotional topic. Academic freedom cannot survive when professors who engage in debate on controversial topics are subject to administrative punishment without even the most cursory due process.”
FIRE is a nonprofit educational foundation that unites civil rights and civil liberties leaders, scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals from across the political and ideological spectrum on behalf of individual rights, due process, freedom of expression, academic freedom, and rights of conscience at our nation’s colleges and universities. FIRE’s efforts to preserve liberty on campuses across America can be viewed at thefire.org.
This is a re-print of that article from the GM of Al-Arabiya, courtesy of the Arab News.
Nothing to see here...move on.
Ping
If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.
To say that the professor should file a complaint to protect his free speech rights, shifts the burden of proof. Normally, the Administration would seek to enforce its rules on freedom of speech via a hearing at which the accused has certain due process rights.
Bear in mind that freedom of speech is a two way street, as all who are part of a university community should respect all others' equal freedom of speech. Thus, disrespecting the free speech rights of others would be actionable. Furthermore, we should expect a higher level of accoutnability of professors than of students (although university students, being adults, are not without accountability).
The item makes it appear that the professor was disciplined without a hearing, but can invoke a grievance procedure to protect himself. Such a complaint process shifts the burden of proof from the accuser to the accused. It allows the university to act unilaterally (or, merely upon accusation), and requires accused to prove that they did not violate the rules of the university.
I suspect there is more to this story. But, if not, I would hope that the professor pursues his case in court (which is why I support FIRE).
Multiculturalist communists have their own Koran.
Now I get it. It is okay for a professor in class to brainwash students based on his own views ( Leftist ). But it is not okay for a professor to debate a political point of view with students outside the classroom.
And, by the way, some Catholic colleges have been stripped of their right to be called Catholic. I am sure that Father Holtschneider finds no problem defending an absurd feminist play which lovingly portrays the seduction of a young girl by an older lesbian using booze as the lubricant. Would he do the same if the statutory rape were carried out by a heterosexual? You take a guess.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.