FINKELSTEIN HUMAN RIGHTS CHAMPION

By SHOAHUSA
NOVANEWS

Photos from [DePaul’s] Convocation protest
From Chicago Indymedia:

Congratulations to the organizers for putting together a great protest! Please make the time to the protest of Professor Finkelstein’s lock out:
Wednesday, Sept. 5,2007

At the Political Science Department office

990 W. Fullerton




DePaul Convocation Protest Demands Justice for Prof. Finkelstein

09.01.2007 | Chicago IndyMedia
By Andy Thayer

Students and faculty protesting DePaul University’s denial of tenure to Norman Finkelstein and Mehrene Larudee made up a sizeable part of the crowd at the University’s convocation on Friday morning.

Zionist activists such as Harvard neocon Alan Dershowitz have waged a relentless slander campaign against Finkelstein, and despite sterling reviews by various academic bodies, DePaul’s administration caved in and denied him tenure.

University officials recently took the unprecedented step of cancelling Finkelstein’s last year of classes and locking him out of his office. Professors who are denied tenure are traditionally given one more year to teach while they seek other employment.

The Faculty Council and the American Association of University Professors are both disputing the legality of the university’s lock out as well as its refusal to allow Finkelstein to avail himself of the University’s appeals process.

Beside’s Friday’s convocation protest, Finkelstein and his supporters in the Academic Freedom Committee will protest the lock out at 10:30 am, Wednesday, Sept 5th outside of the Political Science Department office at 990 W. Fullerton Avenue.

At first, just a few courageous professors, and then several, donned “We are all Norman Finkelstein” t-shirts that student organizers of the protest had made up.

Matthew Abraham, Assistant Professor of Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse in the English Department, was among the first faculty to don a protest t-shirt.

Elizabeth Rottenberg, Assistant Professor of Philosphy, and Kevin Thompson, Associate Professor of Philosophy

After the politically tendentious tenure proceedings for Finkelstein, a decision that supposedly was to have been made on academic grounds, these junior faculty were putting their own future tenure decisions at risk.

Soon the student organizers ran out of T-shirts.


The student organizers included (l to r) Christoph Osterberg, Political Science ’08; Birute McIntyre, Political Science ’07; and Annette Ruzicka, Political Science ’08

Besides on-campus supporters of Finkelstein and Larudee, Jewish Voices for Peace were also in the house.

The convocation began ironically with the singing of “All Are Welcome” (except Professor Finkelstein, of course) . . .

. . . and an academic procession . . .

. . . led by a security guard.

Protesters appeared at every turn.

Despite the half-hearted attempts of a security guard to shield him, Arts and Sciences College Dean Charles Suchar couldn’t evade the protest.

Suchar, a dismal hatchet-man in the whole sordid affair, looked decidedly uncomfortable throughout the march.

Evan Lorendo (left) literally shadows Dean Suchar.







More articles on tenure denial:

More articles leading up to the tenure decision:

You might also like:

Beyond Delusion

Unchained Capitalism: A Demonic Theology

Scott Ritter Tonight in North Carolina

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *