"Our sturdy First Amendment gives University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill the right to express outlandish opinions, such as calling the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks "little Eichmanns." It also gives the rest of us the right to say that's total nonsense.

Churchill has been employed at the university since 1980, became tenured in 1991, and was nominated by the faculty to be ethnic studies chairman in 2002. Churchill is the department's top administrator, which certainly gives you pause given his responsibilities for making sure department rules are followed, faculty appointments, promotions, salaries, etc. He has the job until the end of the current semester.

CU's interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano told us yesterday, "I find the content extremely offensive ... I certainly don't agree, and I don't think it reflects what the faculty thinks, what the administration thinks, and what the students think - what anybody on campus thinks about 9/11."

If Churchill is so out of sync with the chancellor and the campus, we have to wonder why is he chairing an academic department at the University of Colorado?"

Get the Story:
Editorial: That sturdy First Amendment (The Denver Post 1/29)

Read the Essay:
"Some People Push Back" On the Justice of Roosting Chickens (Pockets of Resistance September 2001)

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Professor sparks controversy with 9/11-Nazi link (1/28)