Terrorists Welcomed With Open Arms on Campuses

Accuracy in Academia ^ | February, 2003 | Editorial

[Jean S]

Duke University’s African and African-American Studies Department has hired a “political prisoner” and “anti-imperialist” activist to address students. Well, not really-but at least that’s what they’re telling people.

On March 3, Laura Whitehorn will speak to “Teaching Race, Teaching Gender,” a class taught by Becky Thompson, a visiting professor in Duke’s African and African-American Studies Department. Whitehorn, who was released from federal prison in 1999 after serving 14 years of a 23-year sentence, was convicted in 1985 of planting a bomb in the U.S. Capitol building two years earlier. This part of her resume somehow didn’t make it into the materials put out by Duke faculty to promote her appearance.

Duke isn't the only school soft on terrorism. In February, Fresno State University is hosting a conference called “RevolutionaryEnvironmentalism: A Dialogue Between Activists and Academics,” which will feature members of the Earth Liberation Front, a radical environmentalist group that prides itself on using violence and terrorism to achieve its aims.Representatives from the Animal Liberation Front, a similarly extreme group that includes instructions for constructing incendiary devices as part of its “Beginner’s Guide to Direct Action for Animal Liberation,” are also planning to attend. Elsewhere in Northern California, Lawyer Lynne Stewart, who was recently indicted for helping 1993 World Trade Center bomber Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman communicate with his followers, was paid a $1000 honorarium by Stanford Law School for serving as a “Public Interest Mentor” to students.

Noting that she has lectured without controversy at Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Vassar, and numerous other schools, Whitehorn claims to be “shocked” at being labeled a terrorist by some Duke students. “I am very much against terrorism,” the convicted bomber ironically claims. The real terrorist, Whitehorn maintains, is the government of the United States.

“Her work was actually the opposite of terrorism,” claims Thompson, who will host Whitehorn in March. The Duke visiting professor actually implies that Whitehorn’s actions in 1983 were that of a patriot. “Part of being patriotic is trying to encourage the government to stand by principles of equality and democracy.”

The chairman of the department responsible for Whitehorn’s invitation seems to concur with this redefinition of terrorism. Charles Payne maintained, “If you think about how civic climate has changed since 9/11, the term ‘terrorist’ gets thrown around in some ways that aren’t helpful.”

While it’s clearly wrong to call someone a terrorist who simply isn’t one, what’s wrong with applying the term “terrorist” to a person that actually is a terrorist? Laura Whitehorn is a terrorist. A jury of her peers found her guilty of placing a bomb in the U.S. Capitol. By even the strictest definition, this makes Whitehorn a terrorist. It also makes those labeling her “patriotic” and a “political prisoner” incredibly dishonest.

[Euro-American Scum]

And people wonder when I say all these campuses would be put to better use if they were burned to the ground.

[chachacha]

UNITED STATES COLLEGES ARE TERRORIST BREEDING GROUNDS WITH TERRORIST PROFESSORS. FOR TOO LONG THIS HAS BEEN CONSIDERED OPEN AND FREE SPEACH, SELF EXPRESSION, OR SOME OTHER ACADEMIC BUSS WORD FOR ANTI AMERICAN CONDUCT.

EVERY COLLEGE IN THIS COUNTRY SHOULD BE GONE OVER WITH A FINE TOOTH COMB. EVERY PROFESSOR SHOULD BE INVESTEGATED. I'LL BET THE JAILS WOULD BE FULL OF BOTH STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS. THEY ALSO SHOULD JAIL THE PARENTS THAT SEND THESE KIDS AWAY TO COLLEGE AND THINK THEY NOW FULFILLED THEIR DUTIES AS PARENTS.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO YOUR SELF WHEN YOU SEE YOUR KID ON TV BURNING THE FLAG?

WAKE UP AMERICA.