[Marxism] Another U. of Colorado academic freedom case

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Feb. 25 2005 Colorado Daily
'I am not going to be silenced'
By STEPHANIE OLSEN Colorado Daily Staff Writer

It was a lesson, but more than that. To CU instructor Adrienne Anderson,
it was a defense of her record, reputation and teaching.

On Thursday morning in the Ekeley Chemistry Building, in a wheelchair
with a broken leg, Anderson showed up to her "Environmental Ethics:
Race, Class and Pollution Politics" class to give a lecture she has been
giving since 1994.

"Come hell or high water, I will be in class tomorrow, and I will be
giving one of my lectures that has gotten me into hot water with
powerful polluters, which includes discussion of my federal
whistleblower case and related attempts to shut me up, including current
threats to my employment and professional credibility," wrote Anderson
in an e-mail to the Colorado Daily on Wednesday.

In 1996 Anderson was appointed by Mayor Wellington Web to the Metro
Waste Water Reclamation District Board of Directors at the request of
the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers International Union (OCAW), who
wanted her to represent workers.

Once on the board she began research into toxic waste dumping on the
Lowry Landfill in southeast Denver. She says her research showed several
major companies such as Coors Brewing Company and Lockheed Martin took
part in the dumping according to Anderson and various public documents
she revealed in her presentation Thursday.

Anderson said 38 million gallons of liquid toxic waste was dumped at
Lowry, and includes extensive plutonium contamination. She also said
Coors Brewing Company is one of the "largest-volume generators" of
dumped material at Lowry.

It is her research around this issue that has gotten Anderson where she
is today.

"The parties that are a part of this deal are trying to get me fired at
this University," said Anderson. "Since 1994 polluters have tried to
kill this class."

On Jan. 31 the Environmental Studies Department at CU took a vote and
decided not to renew Anderson's contract come fall semester. Her classes
have been cancelled and will not be taught after the final class at the
end of this semester. The department cited budgetary reasons for cutting
Anderson's classes from the curriculum.

Anderson and many of her students are not buying that explanation.

Earlier this month students protested the decision of the department to
terminate Anderson's contract with the University.

"I am appalled that our administration would consider reallocating the
struggling ENVS budget in such a way that would deny the students the
opportunity to learn from one of the most influential instructors on
campus," CU sophomore Darren Legge told the Colorado Daily on Feb. 9 at
a student demonstration.

Anderson said she believes it has become a battle between corporate
control of CU and the students' right to academic freedom. She pointed
to Coors and Lockheed Martin as two specific major corporations that
have strong influence at CU.

Lockheed Martin donates money annually for scholarships in the College
of Engineering and Applied Science.

Coors Brewing Company donated money to erect the Coors Events /
Conference Center on CU's campus.

"They (Coors) exercise very powerful roles at the highest level at this
university, while they have the worst record of environmental
compliance," said Anderson. "Therein lies the crux of why my courses are
controversial."

Louis Proyect
Marxism list: www.marxmail.org


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