See also Kebede Thread Oct. 20.
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The San Diego Union-Tribune
October 20, 2001
HEADLINE: Student defending America is admonished
BYLINE: Michael Stetz; STAFF WRITER
BODY:
Zewdalem Kebede thought he was being a good, patriotic American.
He believed he would even be applauded for scolding three San Diego State University students, whom he says he overheard sounding gleeful when speaking recently in Arabic of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Instead, Kebede was admonished. The university has warned the SDSU senior not to lose his cool again or he could be disciplined for violating students' rights. University police also were called at the time of the Sept. 22 incident in the Reserve Book Room of Love Library. They questioned Kebede before deciding not to pursue charges.
"I'm very proud of what I have done," he said.
Kebede is from Ethiopia, where he learned Arabic. He said he believes that the Arab students assumed that no one nearby would be able to get the gist of what they were saying, so they spoke freely.
"I tried to control myself," he said. "But I couldn't. They sounded happy. I told them they should be ashamed."
According to Kebede, the students said, among other things, that they admired the hijackers' "courage and precision."
The episode is causing a stir on campus, with Arab students saying that Kebede got the conversation wrong, lost control and then went public with his side of the story to garner sympathy and support.
Meanwhile, others wonder why Kebede, a political science major, is being bashed for speaking his mind and sticking up for America.
"The story is completely false," said Badr Al-Doweesh, the historian for the Muslim Student Association on campus. "There's no proof or evidence that any of this was said by the students." [um, Mr. Kebede says so--that's "evidence"]
The Arab students have not come forward, but the university said they have denied making any statements in support of the attacks. SDSU won't release the name of the student who called campus police. The police would not release the incident report nor make public the name either.
SDSU police said they fear that releasing the name would endanger that person.
Al-Doweesh said he spoke with one of the Arab students involved, who said Kebede misunderstood the conversation. The student, a Sudanese, said the students were merely talking about whether they had encountered any backlash from Americans because of the attacks.
The student told Al-Doweesh that Kebede came onto him in an "aggressive fashion."
It's common for Arab students to speak in their native language when together, Al-Doweesh said. He also said the students were speaking some slang, which may have confused Kebede.
Al-Doweesh said he knows of no Arab students on campus who harbor anti-American views. "They love America. Otherwise they wouldn't be here."
Of the four material witnesses arrested in San Diego County in connection with the terrorist attacks, one, Mohdar Abdallah, is a San Diego State University student.
Earlier this week, Abdallah was charged with lying on an application for political asylum in the United States, federal authorities said. He is being held in New York.
Kebede, a Christian, maintains that he is certain he didn't mistake what the Arab students said. His first wife is an Arab and a Muslim, and he knows the Arabic language well, he said. He is not anti-Muslim, he added, saying he listened for a half an hour before approaching the students.
He maintains that he threatened no one.
At least one of the Arab students felt concerned enough by Kebede's actions, however, to call campus police. The officers questioned him, left, and Kebede thought that was the end of it.
It was not.
Even though the SDSU police dropped the matter, such incidents, as a matter of policy, are forwarded to the university's Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities, an internal policing body, SDSU said.
Within days, Kebede received a letter saying that he had to meet with the university judicial officer to discuss what happened.
That officer determined that Kebede violated the university's code of conduct, said SDSU spokesman Jack Beresford. The Arab student felt threatened, Beresford said.
"There's a fine line between aggression and debate. In the eyes of the university, he may have crossed that line," Beresford said.
Kebede was not formally disciplined, but was warned that a second such episode could result in disciplinary action, such as suspension, expulsion or being placed on probation.
Kebede, who came to America in 1992 to flee a civil war, said he became a U.S. citizen in 1996.
And he takes the oath he recited seriously, he said.
"I don't care if the government sends me to jail tomorrow. This is my country, and I defend it."