I feel the need to reach out to you all in the case of Steven Salaita. Salaita was fired a few weeks before classes started and after signing a tenure contract ten months earlier. Chancellor Wise ignored university protocol for firing--protocol that would have involved conversations between faculty and the board of trustees. This is all for tweets that reflect [his] deep dismay at the deaths of more than 2,000 innocent Palestinians”, tweets from his personal twitter account that have been deemed uncivil. Many, including myself, would argue that it is not anti-semitic to be upset by the deaths of children. In fact, quite the opposite. His firing is a clear breach of academic freedom and first amendment rights. As a Dance at Illinois alumnus and a former Reuss Fellow at the Illinois Foundation (the fundraising body for all three UI campuses), I know that these actions do not reflect the beliefs and actions of many UI administrators and faculty. I hope that our department will consider voting no-confidence. I hope that my fellow alumni will sign the petition to reinstate Salaita. At the very least, please read multiple articles and watch the statements made yesterday to inform your own opinion. Like the Support Salaita page for updates. theguardian/education/2014/sep/09/professor-israel-criticism-twitter-university-illinois
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 14:22:56 +0000
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