Howard Zinn
Dear President Cartright:
As a war veteran, a college professor of many years, and a writer on matters of war and civil liberties, I cannot believe that you would remain silent in the matter of one of your students, a veteran of the Iraq war, who is facing charges, as I understand, both from the police and the university, for protesting military recruiting on campus. Surely, the memory of that shameful episode at Kent State in 1970 would be enough to make the university administration sensitive to unjust wars and the right of protest. A university should not be subservient to government, or the military, especially where an immoral war is taking the lives of so many people here and abroad. And a university should protect its students, not punish them for engaging in that honored American tradition of protest against injustice. A university should set an example for boldness in protecting civil liberties, rather than exemplifying subservience to authority.
I would appreciate your response. More important, I would hope that you would speak out on this issue, and defend the principle of free expression.
Sincerely,
Howard Zinn, Professor Emeritus, Boston University