Escort Churchill to the door
denverpost.com
University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill's latest toxic remarks, this time condoning - if not encouraging - attacks on military officers, are beyond outrageous.
"Conscientious objection removes a given piece of cannon fodder from the fray," Churchill said at an anti-military forum last week in Portland, Ore. "Fragging an officer has a much more impactful effect."
Fragging is the killing or injuring of a military officer by a subordinate.
How is it that CU can produce Nobel prize-winning research but still can't find a way to get Churchill off its payroll? Until he's removed as a tenured professor, double-digit tuition hikes will be just one of the reasons Colorado families and out-of-state students take a pass on a CU education.
Churchill, wisely, wasn't willing to stand up for his unconscionable remarks. When confronted, Churchill would only equivocate. "I neither advocated nor suggested to anyone, anything," he said. "I asked them to think about where they stood on things."
Oh? Where do you think they stood on this Churchill "question?": "Would you render the same support to someone who hadn't conscientiously objected, but rather instead rolled a grenade under their line officer in order to neutralize the combat capacity of their unit?" When a questioner expressed human concern about such an officer's family, Churchill asked, "How do you feel about Adolph Eichmann's family?"
Incoming CU president Hank Brown has said he doesn't want to buy out Churchill to make him go away, but if university investigators don't find cause for dismissal, he needs to be open-minded about it. CU is best off if Churchill goes away.
Even a hypocrite like Churchill, who hides behind First Amendment protections yet denies those same rights to Columbus Day parade marchers, is entitled to due process.
CU's Standing Committee on Research Misconduct is investigating accusations that Churchill committed plagiarism, academic fraud and misrepresentation of his ethnic background. In the case of tenured professors, due process can take years. But it's high time for Churchill to go. A buyout might even save the taxpayers a bundle since officials figure it could cost $750,000 or more if the university has to defend a firing in court. Meanwhile, the cost to CU's reputation for keeping Churchill on its teaching staff is incalculable.
Churchill has the right to free expression, but he doesn't have the right to a tenured University of Colorado teaching position. CU needs to take away his disguise as a scholar and let Churchill make his way as a political activist. |
