LCC Reviews Canceled Class Circumstances
December 7, 2010
By Jeff Skrzypek
EUGENE, Ore. -- Lane Community College has released more details regarding its decision to cancel a class called "What is Islam".
LCC says regardless of the teacher's credentials, given the nature of the what happened recently at bomb scare in Portland and the mosque fire in Corvallis, the purpose of the class needed to be reviewed.
A few days ago, Barry Sommer was signed up to teach the non-credit class at LCC.
The announcement, though, sparked an outcry from a Muslim civil rights group.
The group denounced the class because of the teacher's past and what they called his well-known, anti-Muslim views.
LCC then canceled the course and said there would be a "careful review" before moving forward with it.
LCC President Mary Spilde said as much in a phone conversation Tuesday.
"Well, we are doing a process review, but once it came to our attention, and given the recent events, we thought the better thing to do was to step back and be more thoughtful," Spilde said.
Spilde says no matter what the teacher's background is or the response from the Islamic civil rights group, the primary reason for canceling the class is to explore how to handle the subject in a responsible and sensitive manner.
The way to have avoided all this would have been to say "We at LCC provide space for all voices and opinions, regardless of whether we agree or not. The basis of free speech is to vigorously uphold, even moreso, speech which some consider inappropriate. No one person or group shall stifle the expression of free speech, and we at LCC will not bend to any pressure from any quarter which takes away a teachers right to a free and open classroom. LCC is committed to the constitution and the rights of all, students and the general public, and thus will support Mr. Sommer and his right to speak, although we do not agree with his personal views or opinions."
Does the constitution provide for free speech or not? Does LCC hold sacrosanct the constitution or not?
6 comments:
Islamic doctrine suppresses freedom of speech, whereas our First Amendment guarantees it. However, LCC's concession to the Terrorist supporting front group CAIR is a step in the direction of successful self-imposed establishment of Sharia.
Those in charge at LCC are such dhimmis..., the push by CAIR for accomodations and concessions will now become unceasing, and if Muslims are pushing for it, you can bet it's Sharia...
"I have been studying Islam and the Middle East for over 10 years. [...] I am no expert."
"a class called "What is Islam."
Yes and I wanted to teach a class called "What is Bullshit." Unfortunately my claims to be a bullshit expert due to studying bullshit on the Internet for over ten years, were rejected.
Must be that anti-First-Amendment Military-Industrial-Taquiya complex keeping me down!
Yep, it's easy for delusional lefties to call into question the subject matter when they have no logical argument refuting it.
"He poisoned the sources of human felicity at the fountain, by degrading the condition of the female sex, and the allowance of polygamy; and he declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind.
THE ESSENCE OF HIS DOCTRINE WAS VIOLENCE AND LUST: TO EXALT THE BRUTAL OVER THE SPIRITUAL PART OF HUMAN NATURE"
~John Quincy Adams~
I was pretty confused about why LCC would have ever agreed to the class in the first place. How is Mr. Sommer's qualified to teach it? Would he have been getting paid by the college? Did it come with a tuition cost?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for free speech and am now way a Jihad sympathizer, but I feel we need to ask where we draw the line.
What if an anti-Christian Muslim wanted to teach a class at the community college called, "What is Christianity?" Would that be acceptable?
What if a white supremacist wanted to teach a class on African-American history?
A Holocaust denier teaching the history of the Holocaust?
At some point a line must be drawn. A community college class does not seem like the appropriate venue for such a discussion, not to say people should not be free to discuss it or even have a public debate, or student group based around dissenting viewpoints, but having a community college class seems inappropriate.
It is an interesting debate when issues such as this come up. The University of Oregon and the Pacifica Forum have been struggling with defining free speech for several years.
That's all I really have to say. In closing, what a strange existence we have!
ACLJ discussing anti-Islamic viewpoints on Jay Sekulow Live = appropriate venue.
ACLJ discussing anti-Islamic viewpoints (and selling it as historical fact) in community college class = inappropriate venue.
Historical facts viewed as inappropriate in the community college venue, whodathunkit...
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