Posted on 12/21/2005 2:42:40 PM PST by Fido969
'Little Red Book' story gets wide publicity By AARON NICODEMUS, Standard-Times staff writer
NEW BEDFORD -- A Standard-Times story about a UMass Dartmouth student who was visited by federal agents for requesting a copy of Mao Tse-Tung's "Little Red Book" has received worldwide attention, thanks to the Internet.
The story, which appeared Saturday, discussed a student's claim that he was visited by federal agents after requesting the book through an interlibrary loan. The account was immediately picked up by numerous Web logs and chat rooms, and by Monday had reached a world-wide audience.
The newspaper was contacted by several large media outlets regarding the story, including The Los Angeles Times, the Globe and Mail of Toronto, the Congressional Quarterly, and the Society of Professional Journalists. Also contacting the newspaper were representatives of national library organizations, civil libertarians and average citizens.
The newspaper received dozens of e-mails from all over the country and as far away as Paris and Beijing.
"The Internet has made it possible for information to move worldwide in an instant," said Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank. "People will read it, pass it on, and all they need is a computer."
The online discussions began over the weekend on Web sites like Slashdot.org, Courttv.com, Debategate.com, Blogspot.com, Freerepublic.com, Antiwar.com, Craigslist.org, Reformer.com and Huffingtonpost.com, just to name a few. All of the discussion of the story has led people to wonder whether or not it is true.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said the story seemed unlikely.
"We're aware of the claims," said Kirk Whitworth, a DHS spokesman in Washington, D.C. "However, the scenario sounds unlikely because investigations are based on violation of law, not on the books and individual might check out from the library."
Mr. Whitworth pointed out that while the original story stated the student was visited by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, the DHS does not actually have its own agents. Under the umbrella of the DHS are Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Inspector General, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Coast Guard, among others.
Mr. Whitworth could not comment on the record whether the agency monitors inter-library loans, or whether there is a watch list of books that the agency maintains.
An FBI spokeswoman was similarly skeptical. "I have never heard that we would go after someone because of a book," said Gail Marcinkiewicz, who works in the FBI's Boston office. "That event in itself is not a criminal activity. I can't imagine how we would follow up something like that. Everyone is protected under the First Amendment, which would include what you would read."
Some new information has come to light since the initial story.
The student made his inter-library loan request for "The Little Red Book" at UMass Dartmouth, which did not have the book in its stacks, to UMass Amherst, the state's largest public university.
Bloggers who deconstructed the story online pointed out -- correctly -- that a Social Security number is not required in the application for an inter-library loan at UMass Dartmouth.
Ed Blaguszewski, a spokesman for UMass Amherst, said it is university policy not to discuss or divulge any information on library borrowing. When asked whether federal agents requested information on a student's inter-library loan request, Mr. Blaguszewski said that under the Patriot Act, the university "is not allowed to discuss whether federal agents have visited or requested information."
UMass Dartmouth spokesman John Hoey issued this statement:
"University of Massachusetts Dartmouth officials are investigating reports that a student at the university was visited by officials from Homeland Security after the student requested a copy of Chairman Mao's "Little Red Book." UMass administrators have interviewed the student who has requested that his identity be shielded, and the university is complying with that request."
The statement continued: "At this point, it is difficult to ascertain how Homeland Security obtained the information about the student's borrowing of the book. The UMass Dartmouth Library has not been visited by agents of any type seeking information about the borrowing patterns or habits of any of its patrons and did not handle the request for the book in question. The student has indicated that another university library processed the request."
That other university was UMass Amherst.
UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack said, "It is important that our students and our faculty be unfettered in their pursuit of knowledge about other cultures and political systems if their education and research is to be meaningful. We must do everything possible to protect the principles of academic inquiry."
Two UMass Dartmouth history professors to whom the student told the story, Brian Glyn Williams and Robert Pontbriand, said they still believe the student was telling the truth.But the student and his parents have made it clear to The Standard-Times that they do not want to discuss what happened. The Standard-Times has made numerous attempts to contact the student and his parents by phone and visited their home in New Bedford. He and his family members have rebuffed these attempts for comment.
Dr. Williams said he would like the student to come forward, but will respect his wish for privacy.
"Our primary concern is maintaining the anonymity of this student," said Dr. Williams. Aaron Nicodemus can be reached at anicodemus@s-t.com
Link to the FR thread? Anyone?
I call B.S. on the kid's story.
Here's one:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1544613/posts
There are others.
Steaming.
they don't call it zoo mass for nothin
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1542637/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1543019/posts
Enough for now.
"Urban legend" implies corruption from passing through many hands. I think this story was corrupt, ie, a lie, at the beginning.
If any law enforcement agents visited this kid, it was not due to his having requested a library copy of the Little Red Book. He may well have been visited by agents and he may well have requested the book, but if so, the latter certainly did not lead to the former. It's terribly convenient that the student "has requested that his identity be shielded". Keeps us from running Internet searches on his name to find out what he's really been up to, that would warrant a visit from federal agents.
"...unfettered in their pursuit of knowledge."
Right. Sounds like this kid's civil liberties have really been restricted.
Wonder why he doesn't want to be identified.
This has the smell of a totally BS story. I've recently (this is the truth) purchased some books on anarchism (it was a topic that interested me in my college years, and I was getting nostalgic) and I've yet to be visitied by the FBI or Homeland Security. I would imagine that hundreds or even thousands of Left-wing books are purchased every day, and the idea that the FBI has the time or inclination to check out thes purchases is absurd.
Thanks for the links. I was interested in Freepers response to the original story. It's good to see that posters spotted it for the BS it is in very short order.
I think it is just as likely that he was visited by Communist party recruiters from PRC who were posing as "homeland Security Agents" to sound the guy out.
Now THAT explanation has a ring of sensibility.
Of course they don't.
It isn't true.
"Wonder why he doesn't want to be identified."
Because he doesn't want to be associated with his own lie, now that it's obvious he was lying.
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