COLLEGE TRUSTEES O.K. RITTER SPEECH. E-MAIL ACTIVISM NEEDED !

[1Old Pro]

 

 

Ritter speech questioned

Schenectady-- But college's trustees don't act to stop appearance

By MIKE GOODWIN, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, January 28, 2003

The Schenectady Community College Board of Trustees questioned whether to allow former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter -- embroiled in controversy over his June 2001 arrest in an Internet sex sting -- to speak to students, but took no action Monday to block the speech.

The college signed a contract with Ritter last fall, agreeing to pay him $4,000 from a special student-faculty fund to speak about a possible war with Iraq. Ritter has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's preparations for war against the Middle East country, but his views have been overshadowed in the past week by the revelation that he was once arrested for allegedly trying to lure a 16-year-old girl to a Menands fast-food restaurant.

At Monday's board meeting, several trustees raised concerns about having Ritter speak at the college. One warned that the college might need to increase security to handle protests when Ritter appears on Feb. 12. Others said talk of Ritter's arrest would overwhelm his anti-war message and convey the impression the college accepts the behavior of which Ritter was accused.

But they stopped short of asking President Gabriel Basil to try to get the college out of the contract.

"We're not going to be offering a forum on Iraq," Trustee and County Legislator Al deAprix told his board colleagues. "We'd be viewed as offering a forum on whether these alleged activities are acceptable or not."

But Andrea Lewis, the board's student representative, said the students she has talked to all support having Ritter speak.

"We asked Mr. Ritter to talk about Iraq," she said. "That's what he's going to be discussing. We want to hear his position on that."

Ritter's June 15, 2001, arrest came to light just over a week ago. He was charged with a class B misdemeanor for allegedly using the Internet to set up a sexual rendezvous with a person he thought was a 16-year-old girl. The person actually was a Colonie police detective conducting an undercover investigation.

The case was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, meaning the charges would be dropped and the records sealed if Ritter stayed out of trouble for six months. Ritter has acknowledged the arrest, but he has declined to discuss details.

Last week, federal authorities obtained the sealed records for review in a possible federal prosecution on Internet crime charges. Ritter has declined to discuss the pending federal investigation, saying only that "the timing stinks."

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SCCC set to host Scott Ritter

By CARL STROCK

---

I hied myself over to Schenectady County Community College yesterday to listen to the trustees of that distinguished institution discuss whether Scott Ritter ought to be allowed to deliver a speech there.

Well, sort of. It's not for them to decide. They didn't invite the guy - a student-faculty group did - and they have no power to cancel his contract.

What's more, with television cameras rolling, they were not eager to talk about the nasty little matter behind their misgivings, so their discussion was actually pretty lame.

One of the trustees, Al de Aprix, who is also a county legislator, did say he was afraid that "We're not going to be offering a forum on Iraq; we're going to be offering a forum on whether these alleged activities are acceptable or not," but he stopped short of saying what the alleged activities of Scott Ritter are.

As we all know, however, they are the solicitation over the Internet of a sexual encounter with what he thought was an underage girl but was actually a police officer.

Not exactly what you want in a college speaker even if the chap did use to be a United Nations arms inspector and even if he is now a leading antiwar spokesman.

But the contract with him was signed back in November, before the unpleasantness became public, and Ritter remains scheduled to speak on Saturday, Feb. 12, at 8 p.m., in the college's Taylor Auditorium, if you want to mark the date on your calendar.

Should the trustees try to stop it?

No, they took the matter up yesterday just so as to provide "input" to the college administration, which theoretically could cancel the contract. They did not convene with any intent to overreach their authority.

What's more, the student member of the board of trustees, Andrea Lewis, assured the others that her fellow students were not at all opposed to Ritter's coming to campus. "We're for it," she said. "I've only heard two or three negative comments."

The president of the college, Gabriel Basil, said the feedback he has received is "at the 90 percent level in favor of continuation of the program."

Trustee Robert Ruggeri said the contract with Ritter is "certainly not an endorsement of him as an individual."

Trustee Nick Barber said, "This is an educational institution; this is an educational experience."

Al de Aprix, the only one to voice serious misgivings, noted that Ritter initially denied having been arrested, and said, "I'm concerned personally with the reliability of his views . . . he basically lied to cover it up."

And he said he has heard from people who complain that Ritter has been "involved in activities that the community does not feel are appropriate to young people," which I thought was a very delicate way of putting the matter.

But in the end, it is not the call of the board of trustees, so unless President Basil changes his mind or the student and faculty groups change their minds, Scott Ritter will still speak at the college.

Somehow I have the feeling that the focus when he comes will not be on Iraq nearly as much as it will be on his private life.

The View From Here presents Carl Strock's personal commentary and appears on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Strock can be reached at 395-3085. The opinions of the newspaper appear in editorials on the Opinion Page every day.
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reply to Gazette Newspapers: gazette@dailygazette.com

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The college President says 90 percent of his conversations are supportive of Ritter. A caller to local radio said that Basil is NOT taking phone calls on this thereby eliminating the Freedom of Speech of the local taxpayers who fund this school.

Send Basil an e-mail with your thoughts. MAKE SURE to cc the newspaper writers so we can prove that not only is Ritter a liar, but so is this left wing college President.

Gabriel J. Basil
President
President's Office
Elston-Room 114
381-1304
basilgj@gw.sunysccc.edu

cc newspaper writers ==>> mgoodwin@timesunion.com AND : marym@dailygazette.com & lamend@dailygazette.com

local talk radio host who is all over this story: pvandenburgh@albanyradio.net

TAKE A FEW MINUTES AND LET YOUR THOUGHTS BE KNOWN, SEND AN E-MAIL!

 

[Phantom Lord]

A bunch of FReepers should show up wearing those Burger King crowns

[TLBSHOW]

Ritter is a hit on the College campus across America! At least we all know who runs the schools, must be liberal Perverts!

[1Old Pro]

A bunch of FReepers should show up wearing those Burger King crowns

The local media, 4 stations, will have cameras a rolling. This is an excellent opportunity for a Freep.

[dead]

A bunch of FReepers should show up wearing those Burger King crowns

And those Catholic schoolgirl outfits.

(I’m never one for subtlety.)

[CyberAnt]

Ya'll need to understand - this is dem territory - they may very well agree with Ritter's stand. However, a little counter protest wouldn't hurt!!

[Registered]

lol

[Tijeras_Slim]

(I’m never one for subtlety.)

Nor haute cotiure either! :)

[mallardx]

Thanks - here's my email...

Dear Mr. Basil:

I read a quote attributed to you where you claimed 90% of the reaction to having Scott Ritter speak at your college was "positive" - is this true, or did you make that up? You see, a lot of leftist thought is based on lies and deceit, and doesn't fly in the face of examination.

Scott Ritter was a former weapons inspector in Iraq, who changed his stance on their atrocious behavior after accepting a $400,000 payment from pro-Saddam Hussein cronies. He has taken cash payments in lieu of standing up for his principles, and is now an anti-Bush, anti-war voice in America. He is also a twice-arrested solicitor for teenage girls, a pedophile, a sex predator, and a danger to the public. Keep a close eye on your daughters while he is in town, if you have any.

Your tacit approval of his sex crimes is unbearable to the American public - your covering up for the left will not go unnoticed during these extremely serious times in World history. Whether or not you have the intellectual capacity for figuring out that Saddam Hussein is a menace to the world and needs to be stopped, or not, and respective of the fact that there is room for debate on the important matter of upcoming war, I believe you are lying to the public about the 90% support levels. Would you care to make a public retraction? You WILL be held accountable for your stances here. Lies and deceipt manufactured to give aid and comfort to our enemies will be noted, catalogued, and made public. Be really careful which side you choose to be on in these times of extreme danger to the free world. A hint for you - one side chooses freedom of thought, freedom to write, speak out, and debate; the other side will slice your face off if you speak out against it. Give this some serious thought before choosing which side YOU are on...

[Jmouse007]

Done, this is what I wrote:

January 28, 03

Dear President Basil,

I am writing in order to express my outrage, dismay and disgust over the Schenectady Community College Board's decision to pay Mr. Scott Ritter $4,000 from a special student-faculty fund and to speak about a possible war with Iraq.

This individual was arrested for allegedly trying to lure a 16-year-old girl to a Menands fast-food restaurant on June 15, 2001. He was charged with a class B misdemeanor for allegedly using the Internet to set up a sexual rendezvous with a person he thought was a 16-year-old girl that he wanted to watch him masturbate! The authorities have the evidence that this was his intent when he set up the meeting. The person Mr. Ritter was corresponding with was actually a Colonie police detective conducting an undercover investigation. Mr. Ritter went to the location and he was arrested for the crime. The case was adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, meaning the charges would be dropped and the records sealed if Ritter stayed out of trouble for six months. Ritter has acknowledged the arrest, but he has declined to discuss details. Were he innocent, according to the law he is free to clear his name and set the record straight. This he is unwilling to do because he did the deed!

Sir, this matter is not over, last week federal authorities obtained the sealed records for review in a possible federal prosecution on Internet crime charges. This is the man you want to address your students!

It does not matter what the students think of Mr. Ritter, or his stand on Iraq, you and your college board are suppose to be the ADULTS running the school. Adults do not allow alleged pedophiles under federal investigation to come onto campus and address a student body about anything, period! You and your board should be ashamed. If I had a student at Schenectady Community College, I would be looking for another institution to send my son or daughter to for their education and those responsible for giving Mr. Ritter a platform should be fired.

As for Mr. Ritter's new-found pro-Saddam position on Iraq, blackmail has a habit of radically changing one's position. Having served as a Chaplain within a large prison facility for over 5 years I know one thing, it is not a one time deal, child molesters make it a habit of taking sexual advantage of under age girls and boys. I have a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Ritter's lust for little girls was learned by Iraq's regime and that he was set up, captured on film and threatened with exposure if he didn't "cooperate." This, along with the $400,000 he received the Iraqi government goes along way towards explaining his amazing change in position.

I have forwarded copies of this letter to the appropriate news organizations.

G. S., Ph.D.

cc Press and Radio

[skip2myloo]

Well, from that aspect, there's probably nothing to worry about.

I suspect those college coeds are far too old to appeal to Ritter.

As for his treasonous behavior, that's another issue altogether.

[1Old Pro]

Thanks. That's a lot longer than mine. You make great points.

[1Old Pro]

Super letter. I'm sure the press will pay attention even if the Leftist President will not.

[Sam's Army]

"A bunch of FReepers should show up wearing those Burger King crowns"

That's really a great idea. Ritter is so easy to get riled up that he would not be able to stand it and he'd just go nuts in front of all those tv cameras. Replays would be all over FOX at least.

[1Old Pro]

Did you ever save a copy of the sexual predator alert that was going around when Klintoon was actively abusing women?

[1Old Pro]

Replays would be all over FOX at least.

Our local FOX affiliate loves stories like these. I'm sure that Ritter has a short fuse and will probably start swinging at people. He's nuts.

[nicmarlo]

A bunch of FReepers should show up wearing those Burger King crowns

Good idea!!!! Wish I could go; I'd do it!

[Registered]

I didn't save it, but if you want a new Ritter one all you have to do is ask / suggest some text.

[1Old Pro]

THE OFFICIAL "KEEP UP WITH RITTER STORIES" THREAD

[1Old Pro]

I do a web search to see what the originals (real ones)looked like.