A Story of Academic Freedom in the Tense Post-911 Climate

City College was put through a severe test to determine if it, indeed, upheld academic freedom when in the extremely tense and phobic post-9-11 climate; a professor was subjected to racial profiling by City College Police because of his ethnicity. This professor had taught for 36 years on a full-time basis at the College. What he said in class about some possible reasons of terrorism against the US was not different from what others had said. However, because of his ethnicity, his words were misconstrued and distorted not by a student in class but by his visiting mother, who was not present in class but called City College police and registered her concern that this instructor might have dangerous links. The College Police, in turn, on the basis of hearsay, without investigating and without talking to the professor, forwarded the case to S.F. Police Department and the FBI. The College administration protected this professor by offering to conduct an internal investigation and hand over the results to SF Police Department, thereby preventing his arrest “for questioning.” The case was resolved when the professor accepted the Police apology and the offending police officers consented to undergo a cultural sensitivity training session conducted by the professor with College administration and a Union representative in attendance.

Article of this incident published in the college newspaper, The Guardsman, November 26, 2001, p. 3

Article of this incident published in the AFT2121 newsletter, Union Action, March 2002, p. 9