E-Learning on the Patriot Act

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

I second this letter from Staf. Djf


------ Forwarded Message
From: Gene Spafford <spaf () cerias purdue edu>
Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 00:17:15 -0500
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] E-Learning on the Patriot Act

I'm responding -- without quoting -- Jim Warren's post about the
visiting law professor from the CIA.  What I got from the post was
that he felt that Mr. Strickland (the lawyer from the CIA) was
somehow too biased to allow as a professor, or would require a
counterbalance in the classroom.  This made me angry, for reasons I
set out below.

Does Mr. Warren believe that every other faculty member, adjunct or
otherwise, is unbiased?   That anyone who has worked for the
government is somehow tainted and unable to act as an instructor in a
classroom?   Are people with strong personal and professional
opinions -- such as this list's moderator, the estimable Professor
Farber -- really that different, modulo their beliefs?  An "ardent
advocate for civil liberties protections" as suggested by Mr. Warren
is clearly biased, by definition!

Mr. Strickland is a lawyer.   Serving in the CIA he has taken a
solemn oath to ".. support and defend the Constitution of the United
States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I [he] will
bear true faith and allegiance to the same...."   I'm sure he takes
that seriously.   He's also admitted to the bar in VA and in DC, and
that also requires an oath to uphold the law. That he *may* have a
different view of what is proper support for the Constitution than
Mr. Warren or me or anyone else does not make him unqualified to
teach a course (and I stress "*may*" because we do not know his
views).  How do we know whether Mr. Strickland is "an ardent advocate
for civil liberties protections"  himself?

His affiliation is identified in the course listing:  The students
will not be misled about his background.   His bio notes a number of
publications and speaking engagements related to the issues about
which he is teaching.  Thus, it seems unlikely that the cognizant
officials at the university were misled in some way when they granted
him the visiting position and scheduled the class.  He has a law
degree, his bio shows a distinguished record of government service
including several awards, and even a MS degree in CS from UVa, where
he was an NSF Fellow.   This is someone with significant experience
and education, and  I see no reason for him to need a chaperone to
teach a class related to his profession.


As a professor, I take umbrage at the notion that there should be
some political litmus test to allow a person to teach students.
Each and every person has opinions, and sometimes we expose those to
our students.   If anything, this is a quality that makes our
universities more valuable than simply learning out of books.  We
have faculty who are avowed socialists, rapid Creationists, militant
feminists, ....  pick a particular set of views.  Even those of us
who are not at the extremes hold views -- that we pursue knowledge
does not mean that we eschew personal opinions and experience.

I would be incensed if someone advocated that Dave or I or anyone
else should be excluded from the classroom or require a military
monitor because we have spoken out against some government actions
and belong to organizations that support civil rights.   I am equally
offended that someone would suggest that an educated, published
individual must be monitored in the classroom because of his choice
to serve his country and support the Constitution as he believes
correct.

If we are to really protect civil rights and the Constitution, then
we need to respect  reasoned views of others, even if we do not agree
with them.   That extends to people who work for the CIA, the FBI,
the ACLU, the EFF and anything in between (or beyond).  We may not
agree with every view, but it is the shared exchange of opinions in
venues such as our universities that enable us to learn about each
other, to evolve our own views, and to agree to common approaches
that allow us to work with each other.

--spaf


------ End of Forwarded Message

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