UNL should concentrate on what was always its academic strong suit: Mammal paleontology. When they got away from that, they became a PC joke. UNL’s chancellor and deans should be canned, their funding sent to the Omaha campus, and the law school moved to Omaha as well. They should be taught a lesson for having decided to go political and for forgetting what they’re there for: Educating, not indoctrinating.

In my 10th grade English class, I must have missed the part where violent criminal acts are politics.

I guess this means I should dye my hair blonde.

University cancels speech by Ayers

By Henry J. Cordes and Khristopher J. Brooks

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln rescinded its speaking invitation tonight for 1960s radical-turned-educator William Ayers.

University officials cited “safety reasons” for canceling Ayers’ Nov. 15 appearance.

Spokeswoman Kelly Bartling declined to elaborate on what safety concerns would keep Ayers from addressing a College of Education and Human Sciences event.

Earlier today, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman strongly condemned the invitation and called on the NU Board of Regents and President J.B. Milliken to block it.

Heineman said through a spokeswoman this evening that he was pleased the university had reconsidered and rescinded the invitation.

An Omaha charitable foundation had announced it was pulling all of its contributions to the university. Several other donors also have indicated to university fundraisers that there could be a financial cost if Ayers speaks.

And Nebraskans by the hundreds continued to register their opposition with university administrators and others, lighting up phone lines and filling e-mail boxes.

Heineman said Ayers’ invitation was “an embarrassment” to the state and that it goes beyond the bounds of the university’s mission.

“Our citizens are clearly outraged and want action,” Heineman said in an interview. “This is their university. This isn’t even a close call. The university should immediately rescind the invitation.”

Dean Marjorie Kostelnik said she spoke Thursday night with UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman about “the climate around this issue.”

She said she also has spoken with representatives of Milliken’s office.

Other public officials weighed in about Ayers on Friday, a day after the UNL speech was announced.

Both Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat, and Rep. Lee Terry, a Republican, called for cancellation of the speech.

“The invitation made to William Ayers to speak at my alma mater in the midst of a heated national election when he is such a highly controversial figure is an outrage,” Terry said.

Nelson said the visit would not promote the unity now needed in the nation.

Attorney General Jon Bruning also said UNL made the correct choice.

“I think its good news for the university,” he said. “I dont think there was any good way for the university to disassociate itself with his past.”

State Auditor Mike Foley sent the university a long request for information on Ayers’ trip, its planning and how it is being funded. UNL officials have said Ayers’ appearance would be privately funded.

Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground, a radical group that staged domestic bombings to protest the Vietnam War. Ayers was charged with conspiracy to incite riots, but the charges were dropped because of misconduct by prosecutors.

Ayers went on to gain respect in the education field and become a scholar known for his ideas on school reform. At UNL, the plan was for him to limit his speech to graduate education students to that topic.

The invitation to Ayers was extended in February, long before he became a household name in this year’s presidential election because of his ties to candidate Sen. Barack Obama through their shared work a few years ago with a school reform effort.

The Gilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock Foundation in Omaha told the university Friday that it would halt all contributions to the university unless the UNL education faculty rescinded Ayers’ invitation. The foundation has given millions to the university in the past.

While other donors haven’t been as explicit, Clarence Castner, who leads the University of Nebraska Foundation, said it became clear that other contributions were “in jeopardy.”

Scholars said a decision to pull an invitation to Ayers could be seen by educators nationally as a school-sponsored curb on academic freedom.

It would make UNL a less attractive school to the faculty members it seeks to recruit, said David Moshman, a UNL education professor writing a book on academic freedom. …

http://www.omaha.com/index.php.....d=10463012

In all seriousness, I expect some other college to invite Ayers to speak immediately to show how open and elightened they are.

Nothing like inviting a pro-socialism terrorist to your school to show that you stand for uh, freedom…