Opinion: Rights have been abused in firing of Sami Al-Arian

I was saddened by the University of South Florida's decision to fire Dr. Sami Al-Arian. This man has been thoroughly investigated over a number of years and is apparently guilty of the "crime" of speaking freely.

Freedom is the quality that makes America great, including freedom of speech. Our Bill of Rights guarantees free speech, even for those who do not express the views of the majority. In fact, the purpose of the Bill of Rights is to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority.

These rights have clearly been abridged in the case of Dr. Al-Arian. I am afraid the America I love doesn't even exist anymore.
-- Melva Underbakke, Temple Terrace

Al-Arian should have been fired sooner

As a student of the University of South Florida, I have been severely annoyed by the present situation regarding Dr. Sami Al-Arian. I fully support the decision to terminate the professor's employment and wish it had been done sooner. Given our present educational budget cuts, the funds being paid to this man can certainly be put to a more purposeful use.

The world does not need people who are willing to make public statements to the effect of "death to Israel." Dr. Al-Arian can try to explain this away as he has been doing, but the fact remains that this statement is highly inflammatory. If I were to make public statements involving "death to Palestinians," I would certainly be placed under extreme suspicion. That there are people still willing to defend Dr. Al-Arian's actions is completely baffling.

Had I been aware of the previous implications involving this man, including his statements, connections and actions, I seriously doubt that I would now be attending this university. I applaud the decision to rectify what can certainly be construed as a previous error not to discharge this despicable man.
-- Michael Berman, Temple Terrace

Not USF's finest hour

As a long-time supporter of the University of South Florida (a 15-year member of the President's Council) and former adjunct professor, I attended the emergency meeting of the board of trustees on Wednesday at 9 a.m. I was surprised to learn that most faculty had not learned of the meeting since the notice had been sent out at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. The board of trustees seemed to accept the positions of the chairman and the administration without serious questioning. Only previously designated people were permitted to speak and no faculty representative. However, it is the failure to ask searching questions that raises the issue of the board's responsibilities. A few of the questions that begged to be asked:

1. Since Dr. Sami Al-Arian has not violated any laws, the charges against him seemed a stretch. One of the main accusations was that he passed himself off on television as a spokesperson for USF by not disclaiming otherwise. Yet, how often do USF professors appearing on radio or TV state that they do not represent the university? Virtually never. It is understood.

2. The principal cause for the near-unanimous vote to recommend dismissal of Dr. Al-Arian was the "disruption" that his case has caused to USF. How serious has the "disruption" been? Only the dean of engineering was called upon to speak. No other deans were asked for their opinion.

3. Have the threats of violence against Dr. Al-Arian or USF been investigated by law enforcement agencies? If so, what have they learned about those making the threats?

4. Since Dr. Arian's alleged ties to terrorists and public statements all relate to the Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, it was curious that the board agreed that the "content" of his remarks was not relevant to the main issue of "disruption" versus freedom of speech. One might have at least asked if there has been any effort by USF to determine if it has been the object of a campaign orchestrated by pro-Israeli elements?

5. Finally, the chairman of the board said Al-Arian demonstrated a "character flaw" by voting in an election when he was not a citizen since at that time he had been in the country more than 10 years and was a Ph.D. How did this come about? Did it really prove a "character flaw"? No questions were asked.

This hearing was not USF's finest hour.
-- Arthur L. Lowrie, Lutz

Where are the defensible arguments?

Good decisions made for bad reasons put a university's academic reputation at risk.

No university should fire any professor whose views hurt fundraising. University trustees know that they should not be bullied by donors into making decisions that hurt the university. Somewhere there are donors who take the opposite view.

And I have never heard a faculty member make clear that his off-campus speeches reflect his own views rather than the university's. That's because everybody knows it already.

Connie Mack was right to ask whether a professor with unpopular views can be protected at the University of South Florida.

If the University of South Florida wants to continue its prosecution of professor Sami Al-Arian, I'd like to see some truly defensible arguments.
-- Adam Kissel, Clearwater

A terrible example

I was saddened to hear that professor Sami Al-Arian was fired at the University of South Florida. Fifteen days after the Sept. 11 attacks, I attended a diner gala in Tampa on the subject of education; local Muslims organized this event. I am from France living in the United States for 15 years as a resident, and Islam is not my religion.

However, like most parents, I have concerns about the education system and want to contribute to making it better. Al-Arian was one of the speakers and with passion he expressed his views about the education system and his religion and condemned the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

People come to the United States from everywhere in the world to become American and to experience some freedom. And soon enough, they are as American as anyone whose family came over on the Mayflower. In fact, millions of people do become citizens -- Muslims do it every day. American values are quite attractive, not only to Americans but also to people everywhere in the world. People of all races and backgrounds created those values, such as human dignity, natural moral truth, civility and freedom of conscience. As President Bush said:

"Ultimately, one of the best weapons, one of the truest weapons, that we have against terrorism is to show the world the true strength of character and kindness of the American people."

If professor Al-Arian is well respected by his students and an excellent teacher in the field of computer engineering, we should support his freedom of speech and embrace the difference of culture. USF president Judy Genshaft's decision was a terrible example to the students of USF. It demonstrated that money and politics are more important than morals.

If professor Al-Arian is involved in the mass murder of innocents, show us the proof, otherwise stop the accusations. We need to unite, not to discriminate.
-- Florence Vanleuven, Clearwater

A hero and a coward

My candidate for this year's bay area "Hero of the Year" award is USF president Judy Genshaft for firing USF professor Sami Al-Arian.

My candidate for this year's bay area "Coward of the Year" award is St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker for firing police Chief Mack Vines.
-- Kit Werremeyer, Valrico

Vines' comment was unprofessional

Re: St. Petersburg's police chief.

For people who are in public positions of authority in our communities, government or any place of employment, a certain level of professionalism must be maintained. It was very clear that Chief Mack Vines' comment was very unprofessional and showed his personal bias toward someone of a different ethic background.

I feel if you have certain bias that makes it easy for comments like that to roll off of your tongue, you should not be allowed to work in an environment where you are going to encounter people of different shapes, sizes and colors. I also believe this case offers a lesson to prevent anyone else from having any future outburst toward anyone.

Mack Vines is no one I would want my children to look up to and honor in my community as a hero. It is very scary to have a person with such bias working as a man of the law. Reviewing this case honestly makes me think: Was he really sorry for making the comment or was he sorry he was going to be reprimanded for his actions?
-- Jeannie Pettiford, Clearwater

Firing was a political tactic

Your paper featured recently a bevy of articles, editorials and letters to the editor in which each writer discussed his or her view of the impact on racial politics in St. Petersburg of Mayor Rick Baker's firing of police Chief Mack Vines.

I offer a different point of view.

Jeb Bush wants to occupy the governor's seat from 2003 to 2006. To do so, he must win next year's election. To win, Bush needs the African-Americans in St. Petersburg to vote for him, not the Democratic candidate.

Rick Baker enjoys the reputation in the Republican Party as a guy who delivers the African-American vote in St. Petersburg. I quote Adam C. Smith, who writes, "But Baker also understands St. Petersburg's racial politics. He rode them into office nine months ago, winning overwhelming support from African-American voters against an opponent pegged as racially divisive. He helped (David) Fisher do the same thing in two prior elections." (Baker's no-win action is decisive, politically astute, Dec. 19.)

Simply stated, Rick Baker fired Mark Vines as Baker's first tactic to deliver African-Americans and their vote to Jeb Bush.

Candidates for governor, start your engines! The race has begun in St. Petersburg!
-- Will Grant, St. Petersburg

A questionable expenditure

Clearly, the cost to wage war on terrorism will be in the hundreds of millions, or, more likely, billions of dollars. However, that war is justified and must be pursued, cost notwithstanding. Given that, how can President Bush justify now pushing for a very questionable missile defense system, one guaranteed to cost billions? More important, how does he propose we pay for it?
-- Bill Donofrio, Spring Hill

Bin Laden and the back door

Where is Osama bin Laden? It is very difficult for me to believe that bin Laden -- a bright, wealthy man with an engineering background who carefully orchestrated and carried out the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- would be foolish enough to build an underground fortress and hiding place with running water, electricity and air conditioning (as stated by the media) without a rear exit.

We should awake from our daydreams and face reality today.

If bin Laden isn't found dead from the constant bombing, you can rest assured that he has long ago fled Afghanistan through the back door.
-- Jules Mangano, Hudson

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