Academic roosting of chickens

Last week, the battle for academic freedom took an interesting turn.\nThe University of Colorado Board of Regents voted 8-1 to fire Professor Ward Churchill. A committee concluded he had engaged in research misconduct that included fabrication, falsification, improper citation and plagiarism. \nThe drama began more than two years ago when Churchill’s essay “Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens” came to national attention. In it, he argued that the 9/11 attacks were the result of a long history of U.S. abuses and called the victims “little Eichmanns.” \nWell, I scarcely know where to begin with this one.\nI wholeheartedly support free speech, but individuals such as Churchill do not so much use the First Amendment as they chew it up and spit it out. Freedom of speech is one thing, but Churchill’s abuses to which we have been so mercilessly subjected just lend credence to those who want to limit speech.\nFurthermore, I fail to see how this man’s writings have advanced the cause of higher learning. He has taken general ideas that are hardly original, added some inflammatory words and given the middle finger to anyone who dares to question him. Perhaps the real “roosting chickens” were those who came to Colorado last week.\nHard-left academia, however, is not limited to Ward Churchill. In fact, I was surprised to discover that we have a Churchill-like professor here in Indiana.\nProfessor Harry Targ has been teaching at Purdue University since 1967. According to Purdue, he teaches political science and is the coordinator of the Committee on Peace Studies. \nAt first glance, the program Targ runs appears legitimate. It has course listings, recommended readings and even a lecture series.\nHowever, the first person listed in that lecture series is Cindy Sheehan. Their film series, if you can call it that, includes such films as “U.S. Involvement in Torture: Legal, Historical and Security Issues,” “Fidel: The Untold Story” and “You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train.” \nThis information speaks volumes about who Targ is and what he hopes to accomplish with his tenured professorship. It now seems clear that his “academic” work exists largely to espouse a political point of view and is devoid of any serious inquiry.\nHarry Targ can say whatever he wants, but it seems unfortunate that our counterparts in West Lafayette pay tuition to support such a ludicrous area of research.\nI guess the hardest thing to understand about Targ and Churchill is why they seem to despise our country so much. Reading Churchill’s writings and Targ’s reading lists, they appear ready to believe the worst about America and seem to be filled with hate for their own country.\nI cannot say what the future will bring for academia or America’s universities, but whatever it is, I hope it is a step above these individuals. After all, if institutions of higher learning cannot do better than Ward Churchill and Harry Targ, what is the point?