Thanks to Terence for the NPR link and the reference to the Ohio statute.

Ward Churchil at a UC Boulder forum was on C Span last night.  The link is

http://www.c-span.org/search/basic.asp?
ResultStart=1&ResultCount=10&BasicQueryText=Ward+Churchill&image1.x=24
&image1.y=10

Who was it that said, "I disagree with what you have said; but I will defend to the
death your right to say it."  Jos. Pulitzer?  We're losing touch with that, altough I
suppose it's nothing new to make points by rousing the rabble against
unpopular viewpoints.

It may be good to have our ALSB first amendment experts weigh in, but it sure
looks to me Churchill's comments qualify as "political speech," and are thus fully
protected against state action unless it qualifies as obscene, "fighting words," or
defamatory.  [But the governor would not have standing to bring an action for
defamation of the WTC deceased from 9-11. If Churchill is at a private school,
no such protection, right?]


---- Original message ----
>Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 20:06:29 -0500
>From: Terence Lau <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Professor's First Amendment Protection?
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>   Link: File-List
>   Link: Edit-Time-Data
>
>   Think that's bad?  Try Ohio Senate Bill 24.  For
>   those of you not in Ohio, here's the link:
>   http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=126_SB_24
>
>
>
>   Note the language of paragraph C: Faculty shall not
>   infringe academic freedom or quality of education by
>   "persistently introducing controversial matter into
>   the classroom..."
>
>
>
>
>
>   ----------------------------------------------------
>
>   From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB)
>   Talk [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
>   Of [log in to unmask]
>   Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 7:26 PM
>   To: [log in to unmask]
>   Subject: Professor's First Amendment Protection?
>
>
>
>   I am sure that most of us know the story (excerpts
>   below) of the tenured professor at U. of Colo. who
>   referred to the 9-11 victims as "little Eichmanns."
>   The governor has called for him to be fired. Maybe I
>   missed it, but I have not seen or heard in the press
>   or broadcast media any First Amendment argument
>   being advanced on his behalf. Can anyone see a
>   compelling state interest that would justify his
>   firing?
>
>   Keith
>
>   BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - A University of Colorado
>   professor who once compared some of the World Trade
>   Center victims to a Nazi war criminal said Tuesday
>   he mourns for everyone killed on Sept. 11 and
>   conceded that he could have explained himself
>   better.
>
>   Ward Churchill made the comparison in an essay
>   written hours after the 2001 attacks and later
>   revised for a book. He called some victims "little
>   Eichmanns," a reference to Adolf Eichmann, who
>   organized the Nazi campaign to exterminate European
>   Jews.
>
>   ****
>
>   Gov. Bill Owens has called for Churchill to be
>   fired, and the school is investigating whether the
>   tenured professor of ethnic studies can be fired.
>   ...
>
>
>
>   ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
>   Keith A. Maxwell
>   Nat S. and Marian W. Rogers Professor
>   Professor of Legal Studies and Ethics
>   School of Business and Leadership
>   University of Puget Sound
>   Tacoma, WA 98416
>   Office Phone: 253.879.3703
>   www.ups.edu/faculty/maxwell/home.htm
>   ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
>
>