Here is the NY Times article.
Rightfully so and long overdue if you ask me. I know that's not exactly the most PC opinion to have coming from an extremely left-wing position, but when it gets down to brass tacks Ward Churchill is a douche bag.
His firing was less about his infamous post 9/11 "Little Eichmann's" comment and more about the fact he is an absolute and complete liar.
He lied about his role in Vietnam; he lied about being a member of the Cherokee nation; and perhaps most egregiously he has been accused and found guilty by his peers of plagiarism - which ultimately is why he was canned.
Not to mention his hiring as an assistant professor back in 1990 and promotion to tenure status ONE YEAR later was a bit dubious considering his highest earned degree is a MA in Communication from the University of Illinois at Springfield and he never even attempted work toward a Ph.D.
He is suing, of course, but I doubt he'll win. Good riddance.
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Yeah, I agree, he's said some pretty dispicable things. I'm just not sure that he deserves to be fired for saying them, as much as I hate what he said. Slippery slope, don't you think? My seminar leader (who also happens to be Jewish) here was actually one of the people who had to testify in this case, and as a result knows Churchill pretty well now. He's been talking quite a bit about it thse past few weeks. Apparently the plagiarism claims are somewhat bogus. I don't know . . .
I meant "despicable." Typo. Sorry. And I also meant "these" and not "thse."
I agree that he shouldn't be fired for saying "things" - anything. I think that's the reason for academic freedom - so that profs can say controversial things without fear of retribution. That said, he has a long history of lying, that is what I take issue with, and the plagiarism charges may be trumped up, I have no way of knowing - but CU is claiming they had 3 exploratory committees investigate and spoke with over 25 faculty in the ethnic studies department or related fields. The lightest punishment recommended was a 1 year suspension without pay, most favored a direct dismissal.
Who knows, but I do think he's a hack.
I don't know . . . apparently there were no sources from outside his university who would go against him. It all came from inside the university -- everyone else supported him. It's just fishy . . .
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