Smear Campaign Against Churchill Orchestrated by 'Campus Watch'

[poe]

Nice work. Just a note regarding how organized this campaign against university faculty who vocally oppose US imperial wars, etc. The campaign against Churchill (with whom I have problems—political and otherwise—but do consider an ally) was organized by the Campus Republicans at CU and also at Hamilton (I think). When Churchill spoke at an environment and indigenous rights conference at the Univ. of Vermont in late October/early November of 200—soon after 911 and the attack on Afghanistan, the local Campus Republicans—a bunch of self-righteous mostly wealthy young men and women who had already punched out an ISO member and encouraged attacks various antiwar activists in town—led a campaign to get Churchill’s engagement cancelled. They organized call-ins to the university administration, local news organizations, and the local Gannett rag, all with the intention of banning Churchill. Fortunately, the university admin refused to cave in to the pressure and defended the first amendment rights and academic freedom. Through conversations with one of the Campus GOP members—a young military vet from a middle class background (unlike the wealthier backgrounds of his cohorts)—I learned that the local group had received coaching from folks connected to CampusWatch, AIA, and other neocon organizations. Indeed, this young man even went to a conference later that school year where he attended workshops that laid out methods local campus GOP clubs could use to chase antiwar and leftist groups off campus. Later that same academic year, the UVM Campus GOP tried to get the local ISO group “unrecognized” as an official student group. They failed, thanks to support from a variety of individual students and groups stepping up to defend ISO’s right to be on campus. In short, it is more organized than it appears.
http://www.kurtnimmo.com/blog/

Who We Are

Campus Watch consists of American academics concerned about US interests and their frequent denigration on campus. Those interests include strong ties with Israel, Turkey, and other democracies as they emerge; human rights throughout the region; a stable supply and a low price of oil; and the peaceful settlement of regional and international disputes.

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Campus Watch will henceforth monitor and gather information on professors who fan the flames of disinformation, incitement and ignorance. Campus Watch will critique these specialists, and make available its findings on the internet and in the media. Our main goals are to:
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