By Theresa Gutierrez

March 1, 2005 A dispute over censorship inspired a DePaul University professor to show up at his own press conference bound and gagged.

Last fall, DePaul University professor Thomas Klocek was suspended without a hearing for challenging the viewpoints of certain Muslim students on campus at a student activities fair. He is now demanding a public apology from the university president in order to avoid litigation.

Klocek showed up to the news conference bound and gagged, illustrating what he believes the university did to him by censoring his views on the Middle East. Klocek says he was unfairly suspended for his views on the Muslim and Palestinian people.

"The students claimed professor Klocek's arguments were racist and hurt their feelings. They went to the dean of the school and 10 days after the debate the professor was suspended without a hearing," said John Mauck, Klocek's attorney.

DePaul University released a statement Tuesday that said the "case is not one of academic freedom, but rather one of inappropriate behavior outside the classroom by a university professional. His attitude was threatening and disrespectful to students."

DePaul student Ben Myer witnessed Klocek arguing with the group students for justice in Palestine.

"As I was walking over, professor Klocek was explaining to my colleagues that there was no such thing as Palestinians, that they don't exist. He made aggressive gestures toward the students. He approached in a very confrontational way," Myer said.

A number of professors and DePaul students support Klocek and believe he has been treated unjustly.

"I came to the conclusion that the administration has exercised rather poor judgment in this matter," said Jonathan Cohen, DePaul University professor.

"This is an injustice. He is a man of integrity, a man of faithfulness and honor," said Vanessa Summers, DePaul student.

Klocek is an untenured adjunct professor. He has been with DePaul for 14 years. He was suspended with pay.

The university was in the process of rehiring him to teach a writing class in the spring quarter with the condition that his class be monitored.

Chicago...Energized debates with a mix of politics, religion, and personal identity are expected on a university campus. But not at DePaul University. Last fall, Professor Thomas Klocek, who has a spotless 15-year record, was censored and suspended without a hearing for challenging the viewpoints of certain Muslim students on campus. During a student activities fair, Professor Klocek disputed the content of literature distributed by the Students for Justice in Palestine. After being libeled, slandered, and suspended by DePaul for speaking out, Professor Klocek insists on a public apology from DePauls president. On Tuesday, March 1 at 11:00 am at a press conference outside the DePaul Student Center, Lincoln Park Campus (corner of Sheffield and Belden in Chicago), Professor Klocek, with his mouth taped shut and his hands and arms bound, will have his attorney read his demands to DePaul. Joining him will be professors and students from DePaul who want academic freedom restored.

On September 15, 2004, a Student Activities Fair was held at the DePaul Loop Campus. Among the student groups at the fair was Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). When Professor Klocek came to the SJP table, he took a handout that showed an Israeli bulldozer destroying a Palestinian house. A discussion began and Professor Klocek sought to inform the students that a third paradigm, neither Muslim nor Jewish, but Christian, should be considered. Later, one of the students likened the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians to Hitlers treatment of the Jewish people. Professor Klocek took strong offense at that allegation and challenged it.

In late September, 2004, Professor Klocek was called to meet with Suzanne Dumbleton, Dean of the School for New Learning at DePaul. At the meeting, Dean Dumbleton referred to two letters complaining about his conduct, one from the SJP and another from United Muslims Moving Ahead. During the meeting, Dean Dumbleton told Professor Klocek that he was suspended. However, according to DePauls policy, a suspension may not be effected, except in an emergency, for any full or adjunct faculty member without an academic hearing. To date, such a hearing has never taken place.

The DePaulia, DePauls student newspaper, reported on this incident in the article, "Loop Professor Takes Heat for Conduct" (October 1, 2004). The article quotes Dean Dumbletons statement, which said that Klocek had a positive career for 15 years and there have never been any complaints from students. In addition, Professor Klocek has collected hundreds of glowing reviews from students over the years.

"DePauls suppression of free speech must end. A public apology from the President, Reverend Dr. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M. stating that DePaul violated its own policies in suspending Professor Klocek without written charges, without a hearing, and without the right to confront witnesses against him is an important first step. DePaul should pledge to institute safeguards against violating academic freedom in the future," said John Mauck, attorney for Professor Klocek. "To avoid litigation, we've delivered a detailed letter to DePauls Trustees asking for their response by March 8."

...both the students involved in the organization and their advisors feel that the university has not effectively dealt with the gravity of the situation. [That's right, they suspended the guy without a hearing - but that still wasn't good enough.]

“I appreciated the prompt reaction of the university especially James Doyle and Suzanne Dumbleton. But in the ensuing conversation I was a little bit disappointed by the dean of SNL when it [the conversation] was being shifted towards a defense or excuse of the professor’s behavior. It was not conveyed that this event was an abhorrence, but rather she started to ask the students to legitimize their reaction,” said Khaled Keshk, a professor of religious studies and UMMA advisor.
His sentiments were shared by several concerned students who were involved in the situation. [How dare they ask the students to justify their reactions?! Apparently, you're not allowed to ask if a feeling is justified (I think that's what 'legitimize' means here.) - the feeling itself is its own justification.]

“I feel like they didn’t really grasp the gravity of the situation,” said Assia Boundaoui, a sophomore political science student and member of SJP. From the things the dean was saying, it seemed like the person that came up to us was a different professor from the one who teaches and that it was a completely different persona. From what we got it seemed like everything he was saying was rooted in his ideology and this wasn’t coming from nowhere.” [Imagine that. There are people who actually BELIEVE what Professor Klocek was saying! Consider your world rocked, kid?]

“I was completely crushed by the incident because they spend so much time on Vincentian vaules and the mission statement but one of their own professors, someone who could have been my professor, was saying all these things. Not only did he denounce my religion and claim that we were all terrorists he basically said that my ethnicity doesn’t exist, which means that all of my roots don’t exist,” added Nassar. “I would expect this maybe from someone off the street … then I could just blame it on ignorance but he is a professor who is pursuing his Ph.D.”

Zahdan also expressed concerns that while the university may assume Klocek's actions were isolated, unreported incidents may have occured in the past. “This man has been teaching for 15 years—how long has this been going on? Finally now it happened in front of the DePaul community and they’ve taken some action. What if he gets re-instated in January? What is the guarantee that he won’t bring these ideas and do this to students again,” said Zahdan.

Doyle further defended the university’s actions by saying, “When you are the victim of a situation like this, you don’t want them [the person responsible] in your community, but I don’t want to make that someone else’s problem.” He also added that actions are being taken to ensure that Klocek is aware of the gravity of the effect he had on the students. [The truth isn't the issue. He hurt the students' feelings, and that's a sin. Whether maybe the students...needed to have their feelings hurt is another question. (What do you think the position of the Muslim Student Association is on Palestinian Arab terrorism?)]

The university plans to take steps to help UMMA and SJP spread awareness and education on Arab and Muslim issues on campus. “We will be getting back together to discuss the troubling climate,” said Doyle. He also explained that he and other university representatives efforts to support the two organizations in their plans to educate the DePaul population...