[Marxism] Justice for professor Loretta Capeheart

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

JUSTICE FOR PROFESSOR LORETTA CAPEHEART!

A TEST CASE FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND WORKERS' RIGHTS


Dear Friend,

I am in the midst of a battle for free speech at the university where I 
teach, Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU). Unfortunately, part of 
this battle has resulted in my being targeted with serious reprisals. 
Some examples follow.

At a meeting called by Illinois State Senate Latino Caucus on my campus 
I was invited to speak and was attacked by the university Provost when I 
disagreed with his assessment of the university's "success" in hiring 
Latino faculty (of which I am one of a very few). I was threatened 
(along with three students) with arrest while handing out 
anti-recruitment fliers in front of an army recruiter even though the 
campus is well aware of my work with Gold Star Families for Peace after 
losing a nephew in the Iraq war.  When I attempted to defend the rights 
of students to protest the CIA, a campus Vice President openly stated 
that I was being investigated for "stalking" a student.  This is a 
serious criminal offense with particularly harsh connotations when aimed 
at a professor by a student.  The statement by this university official 
was later proved to be false.  Requests for retraction of the statement 
and apology have been repeatedly rejected.

A colleague, Dana Cloud, Associate Professor of Communication Studies at 
the University of Texas, who has an established record of defending 
academic freedom and free speech, has written the attached petition.  We 
would like to circulate the petition as widely as possible and 
especially to those in the academic and activist/labor communities with 
strong commitments to free speech.

Please sign the petition 
(http://www.petitiononline.com/j4lc/petition.html) and circulate this 
appeal widely.


In struggle,

Loretta Capeheart, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Northeastern Illinois University

L.Capeheart@xxxxxxxxx


BACKGROUND TO THE CASE:

Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) Justice Studies professor 
Loretta Capeheart has been targeted by her administration for her 
outspokenness for workers' rights, against the Iraq war, and for 
increased representation of minority scholars at NEIU. In 2007 she was 
elected to chair her department by a 2/3 majority of her colleagues, yet 
the University refused to appoint her to that post and even went so far 
as to put the department into receivership and install a representative 
of the administration as chair. Capeheart was also denied merited awards 
during this time.

What were Capeheart's "crimes"? An activist in her union (University 
Professionals of Illinois-AFT/IFT), Capeheart was a leader in the 2004 
faculty strike. In 2006, she testified in the state legislature on the 
need to recruit greater numbers of Latino/a faculty, contradicting and 
infuriating Provost Lawrence Frank, who was in attendance. In February 
2007, she defended students in the anti-war movement who were arrested 
during a protest of a CIA recruitment event on campus. This controversy 
led NEIU President Sharon Hahs to propose a campus events policy 
(subsequently withdrawn) imposing draconian and unconstitutional 
restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly on the campus.

When Capeheart spoke up at a faculty council meeting to question the 
treatment of the students, NEIU Vice President Melvin Terrell lashed out 
at her, stating that Capeheart was a "person of interest" to the police 
and that a student had filed charges of stalking against Capeheart. 
These defamatory statements were absolutely unfounded. But the threat 
against Capeheart-that if she continued to speak out, she and her career 
would be targets for retribution-remains very real. "Stalking is a 
criminal offense," she said. "I lived in continual fear that someone 
would come to arrest me in my class and that I would lose my job. The 
message was that if I continued to speak they would come after me." To 
date, Terrell has not retracted his accusations.

Capeheart is suing Terrell for defamation, alongside Hahs and Provost 
Lawrence Frank for violation of her constitutional right to free speech 
and retaliation against her. She seeks an injunction against further 
violations, her rightful appointment as chair, and from Terrell, 
monetary damages for harms resulting from his defamation of her. 
Incredibly, the administrators' response argues that Capeheart, as a 
state employee, may not sue the University or its officials, contravene 
their positions, question their conduct, or speak as a faculty member on 
matters of public concern. Their motion to dismiss the case states that 
"clothed in her authority as a faculty member," Capeheart criticized 
University policy, "even going so far as to disagree with the stated 
positions of the Provost." "It is very middle ages," Capehart said, 
"like the lord vs. the serf." The case is pending hearing in Federal Court.

We cannot allow NEIU administrators to get away with these attacks on 
academic freedom and workers' rights. Their actions should be chilling 
to all workers, activists, and scholars. Her case is a perfect example 
of the stakes of the ongoing struggle for academic freedom-for labor, 
for inclusion and equality of minorities, and for the right to protest 
against war and injustice. We stand with her.


SIGN THE PETITION at http://www.petitiononline.com/j4lc/petition.html

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, support Northestearn Illinois University professor 
Loretta Capeheart in her suit against NEIU's president, vice-president, 
and provost for violation of her free speech rights and retaliation 
against her for exercising these rights in defense of labor, minorities, 
and academic freedom.

After playing a leading role in her union (University Professionals of 
Illinois-AFT) during a strike, defending students arrested for protest 
of a CIA recruitment event, and contradicting her provost on the matter 
of recruitment and retention of Latino/a faculty, Professor Capeheart was

--denied appointment to her duly elected post as department chair,

--denied merited awards, and

--defamed in a faculty council meeting by NEIU's vice president, who 
maliciously charged her without basis with stalking a student.

We are outraged at these serious and malicious attempts to silence one 
of our fellow academics, unionists, and anti-war activists. We cannot 
allow NEIU administrators to get away with these attacks on academic 
freedom and workers' rights. Their actions should be chilling to all 
workers, activists, and scholars. Her case is a perfect example of the 
stakes of the ongoing struggle for academic freedom-for labor, for 
inclusion and equality of minorities, and for the right to protest war 
and injustice on our campuses.

Capeheart seeks an injunction against further violations, for her 
rightful appointment as chair, and for monetary damages for defamation.

We stand with her.

Barbara Chasin, Montclair State University
Dana Cloud, University of Texas, Austin
Martin Espada, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Bill Keach , Brown University
David McNally, York University
Peter Rachleff, Macalester College
David Roediger, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Michael Schwartz, SUNY Stony Brook
Howard Zinn, Boston University
and many others

(Institutions listed for identification purposes only)

________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: 
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40archives.econ.utah.edu