Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace Press Release
Sign petition to re-instate Dr. Al-Arian
Tampa- May 10, 2002
A student-led petition addressed to the University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft was initiated on Wednesday, May 8, 2002. The petition can be found at the following web site: www.petitiononline.com/Alarian/petition.html The petition reads as follows:
To: University of South Florida President Judith Genshaft
We, the undersigned, urge you to reconsider your regrettable decision to fire Professor Sami Al-Arian. Since September 11th and the beginning of our War on Terrorism, a blind hysteria overtook our country and now threatens to do away with the very values and freedoms we claim to be fighting for. The dismissal of Dr. Al-Arian seems to be the latest example of this threat from within: a disturbing intolerance for controversial points of view. Dr. Al-Arian cannot be held responsible for how people react to his comments; to do so is to punish the victim. By firing Professor Al-Arian, you have succumbed to outside political and economic pressures and destroyed the spirit of academic freedom at the University of South Florida. Only his immediate reinstatement can restore a faith in freedom in a difficult time of exclusion and ignorance. We ask that you reconsider your decision to dismiss
Dr. Al-Arian and reinstate him as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
It must be noted that the local pro-Israeli group PRIMER has claimed to have collected 15,000 signatures against Dr. Al-Arian over the internet. This anti-Muslim group presented the list on May 7, 2002, to the USF chairman of the board of trustees, Mr. Dick Beard. In the past, Mr. Beard has made inflammatory statements against Prof. Al-Arian and has been pushing for his ouster from behind the scene. During the meeting with PRIMER, Mr. Beard repeated his bigoted comments and called for the firing of Dr. Al-Arian.
The Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace calls on all supporters of Academic Freedom and the First Amendment to sign this petition and to voice their opinion in support of free speech.
Meanwhile, a letter by Prof. William Van Alstyne, chairman of the investigating committee of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) was sent in April to the USF president. It warned president Genshaft that if she follows through on her threat to terminate professor Al-Arian, then USF will definitely face censure from AAUP. Censure or the prospect of censure have complicated USF's application to the honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, for this year. According to the USF Oracle newspaper, many faculty and students are upset over the possibility of censure. This means that the next time the university would be eligible to apply is 2006.
Moreover, Dr. Al-Arian filed his response in the Hillsborough County court against the frivolous civil suit by the president of the St. Petersburg Holocaust Museum, Mr. John Loftus. Dr. Al-Arian's response asked Judge Perry Little to dismiss the case for the lack of standing. Dr. Al-Arian's attorney, Mr. Robert McKee, said: "Today we asked the court to dismiss this frivolous lawsuit, or in the alternative to compel Mr. Loftus to disclose when, where, to whom, why, and how he gave any "charitable" donations to any institution associated with Dr. Al-Arian. At the end of this process the whole world will discover the absurdity and of this lawsuit, and that it's politically motivated."