Prof canned after Muslim debate sues-says DePaul characterized his words as bigoted against Islam

World Net Daily ^ | June 15, 2005 | Ron Strom

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

A DePaul professor who was suspended after having a spirited discussion about the Middle East with Muslim students sued the university and two of its officials for defamation yesterday.

Professor Thomas Klocek alleges the administrators wrongly characterized his arguments as racist and bigoted. He seeks damages against the school for maligning his "integrity and professional competence."

Last September, Klocek attended a Student Activities Fair on the Chicago campus and happened to visit the table of the Students for Justice in Palestine, a statement announcing the lawsuit stated. After the professor took a handout that showed an Israeli bulldozer destroying a Palestinian house, he began discussing the Middle East with the students manning the table.

Klocek says one of the students likened the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians to Hitler's treatment of the Jewish people – a statement to which he took offense. The professor challenged the students by quoting an Arab source concluding that although most Muslims are not terrorists, most of today's terrorists are Muslims.

The student group subsequently filed a complaint against Klocek with Dr. Susanne Dumbleton, dean of the School for New Learning, resulting in his suspension with pay. The dean took action without the normally required hearing.

Writing about the incident in the school paper, Dumbleton stated: "No student anywhere should ever have to be concerned that they will be verbally attacked for their religious belief or ethnicity."

DePaul President Rev. Dennis Holtschneider also wrote a letter slamming Klocek, which was published in April in Denver's Rocky Mountain News.

Wrote Holtschneider: "Last September, Klocek acted in a belligerent and menacing manner toward students who were passing out literature at a table in the cafeteria. He raised his voice, threw pamphlets at students, pointed his finger near their faces and displayed a gesture interpreted as obscene. … DePaul offered to give Klocek a spring quarter class assignment if he met with the students to apologize for his behavior and if the program director could drop by his class to ensure that the health issues that affected his teaching were resolved. He refused."

Holtschneider's letter is cited in the suit as an example of libel against Klocek, who says there was no shouting, throwing of paper, threats or obscene gestures exchanged during the argument.

As an adjunct professor, Klocek technically is hired quarter by quarter. Since he didn't accept the university's demand of an apology, Klocek did not teach in the spring quarter, nor was he paid.

Klocek's attorney, John Mauck, said in a statement: "When Dean Dumbleton wrote in The DePaulia and characterized that professor Klocek attacked students' 'religious beliefs and ethnicity,' DePaul hung a Scarlet 'R' of racism on a loyal and much loved professor who has served DePaul University for 14 years without complaint. DePaul worked to ruin Klocek's reputation because of the content of his comments, not his conduct."

Klocek flatly rejects DePaul's demand he apologize for what he said.

"The university now demands (but has not always done so)an apology as a pre-condition to further employment," said Klocek. "My question: For what specifically? To date, I have received no written charges. An apology for the content of my speech? For what I said? It would be wrong indeed to censure the students for their ideas and beliefs. However, the university administration, realizing that apologizing for my opinions would amount to an unwarranted censorship of ideas, now asks me to apologize for conduct in which I have not engaged.

"The draconian penalties to which I have been subjected are deeply distressing in light of the central issue here: free speech."

The case was assigned to Judge David Donnersberger of the Cook County Circuit Court.

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

The article he quoted penned by a Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg, Neil was referring to this article, which comes from the Arab News:

A Wake-up Call : Almost all terrorists are Muslims.. Abdel Rahman al-Rashed* —

[Calpernia]

ping

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

Pink

[winodog]

I bet he wishes America still had a working first ammendment. Some will say we do but he cant say whatever he wants to students in a school. Thats where its needed the most. And liberals are never punished for telling christians their God is a myth. Or that Bush is hitler.

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

I meant "ping"

[Morgan's Raider]

The student group subsequently filed a complaint against Klocek with Dr. Susanne Dumbleton, dean of the School for New Learning,

You sure this didn't happen at Hogwarts?

[Unam Sanctam]

Saying the 9-11 victims were little Eichmans will get you plaudits...

[Spok]

Academia's onslaught against dissident thought continues. It's never really the conduct; it's content. Had this professor been screaming about his hatred of Israel against a Jewish student, he'd get an award.

[popdonnelly]

Thank you, Professor Klocek, for fighting back. More people should have your courage.

[GladesGuru]

"The student group subsequently filed a complaint against Klocek with Dr. Susanne Dumbleton, dean of the School for New Learning, resulting in his suspension with pay. The dean took action without the normally required hearing."

A quick look at the above quote taken from the article shows:

1. Any "academic institution" which has a Department of New Learning is telling the public said institution has far too much funding and too many idle academics.

2. "Dr. Dumbelton"? Even deanie pooh's name is a joke - if an author of a political satire wrote such a character into anything, the author would be accused of a sophomoric sense of humor.

IMHO, Alumni should demand a full auditing and an examination of the phone call and email records of Dr. DUMBelton and the rest of these academic leaders.

My guess is that they cowed before CAIR or some similar group, and perhaps are on the take financially from some Islamo-whacko group.

Let's not forget FloriDUH's infamous University of South Florida and it's hapless leader, Betty Castor. Castor refused to do anything about a Islamo-whacko funded, terrorist aligned "World Islamic Studies" center which came to campus, bought its self a "Center" with Islamo-whacko money, and hatched a top terrorist leader.

As always, follow the cash flow (and the Marxism) and even the antics of academia becomes comprehensible.

Reprehensible, but at least comprehensible.

[popdonnelly]

In my opinion, whining students have far too much say in every university in the country. I've had enough of these whining little political rats ruining the careers of honest professors. If these students don't like what's being taught, they should be kicked off the campus, so that they won't be wasting other students time and money.

[Hibernius Druid]

This is typical DePaul University, a nominally Catholic hotbed of "progressive" anti-American Policital Correctness. Traditionalists and conservatives are not welcome, that's why I left their instructional ranks years ago. For example, I thought Aristotle and Aquinas deserved to have their "voices" heard prominently in the curriculum, but that wasn't what the administation and its thoroughly postmodern faculty wanted.

DePaul is run by tenured radicals from the Age of Aquarius and by Vatican Council II iconoclasts. They have cloned themselves throughout the institution, in every department, every tenure committee. I'd never send a penny of tuition money in their direction.

[Fred Nerks]

PALESTINIAN CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND?

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

Fred, if you go to Amazon, this gentleman has a lot of CDs. EXPLICIT LYRICS is tagged to almost every album title.

[Fred Nerks]

Seems dePaul is a sewer, not a university.

[Doe Eyes]

I bet he wishes America still had a working first ammendment.

Is Depaul a State School?

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

Is DePaul a state school? No, but it is a Catholic university, with a priest as its president.

[jan in Colorado]

Hey John, thanks for the pink ping! ;o)


This is one case I am very much looking forward to following.

Has there been any media coverage of this case at all?

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

Jan: The local print media has almost completely ignored this story. The Daily Herald (Northwest & West Suburban Chicago) and The Daily Southown (South and SW suburban Chcago) each ran AP stories and in the latter's case, the Southown picked up a Jay Ambrose syndicated piece.

TV and especially TV websites have been much more supportive.

Yesterday the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times finally ran a Klocek story. As you can imagine, the circulation of the Trib and the Sun-Times dwarfs that of the newspapers I mentioned.

Jan, you'll be interested in this post from yesterday about DePaul and Klocek, since the Rocky Mountain News figures into it.

Update: Professor Klocek and DePaul UniversityUpdate: Professor Klocek and DePaul University

Thanks for your support!

PS As I'm sure you know, one of our senators from Illinois, Democrat Dick Durbin, is doing his best to "out-idiot" Colorado's Ward Churchill. Of course, Ward, like Dick Durbin, is an Illinois native.

[jan in Colorado]

Thanks for the link John.

Rush has had some fun at Durbin's expense this week!

So, what is in the water there in Illinois to produce such...oh, never mind!

Thanks for keeping me updated with this case. I would like to see it get more attention in the media...but it wouldn't fit into their agenda now, would it?