Mahtab Shirani, a University of Illinois at Chicago student, pleaded guilty last week to sending a threatening email to administrators and faculty one day after the Northern Illinois University massacre earlier this year. Shirani's message declared, I'm aiming to kill as many as I can this is not a joke....After NIU, it's UIC's turn to face disaster. Sit back and relax now, you'll get what you deserve. Shirani will be sentenced to 10-16 months in prison. (The print version of the story, but not the online one, says that Shirani will pay more than $20,000 in restitution for security costs due her to note.)
So what does this have to do with academic freedom? Death threats are one way to silence free speech, and too often colleges do too little to stop and punish such threats.
In another victory for academic standards (and academic freedom), the creators of numerous diploma mills, Dixie and Steven Randock, pleaded guilty and Dixie received a three-year prison sentence. These diploma mills have used threats of libel suits to try to suppress their academic critics, such as the courageous George Gollin of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (where gutless administrators tried to silence his anti-diploma mill website).
Sadly, the Justice Department is refusing to make public the names of the people who bought these fake diplomas (although the names are being forwarded to a federal employment clearinghouse). There's no valid reason to keep the names of these slimeballs secret. They're using fake credentials to advance their careers, and the public (and their employers, especially if they work at colleges) deserve to know the facts.
Comments
ill guy
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12 May 2006 ... "As university professors, we value academic freedom, acknowledging -- as did the ... who entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to procuring funds, goods, or services to or for the benefit of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, ... UPDATE: Times-Tribune: When a judge refused to grant lenient plea deals, Ciavarella and Conahan withdrew their guilty pleas in August 2009; however, they are expected to be ... In 1998, the company canceled the $5000 benefit for workers . ..... And academic freedom is guaranteed. Japanese Constitution: "Article 23. ... technology by R Hollander-Blumoff - 1997 - Cited by 45 - Related articlesAt the same time, much academic literature has critically analyzed the concept of a bargain .... public defenders have a certain freedom to ignore monetary ...... Plea bargaining entails a rational calculation of risks and benefits. ... Guilty Pleas Benefit Academic Freedom. Mahtab Shirani, a University of Illinois at Chicago student, pleaded guilty this summer to sending a threatening . ... management The standard defense of plea bargaining is that guilty pleas save time and .... Part I summarizes the academic debate over plea bargaining, .... Alford fit well with the modern liberal emphasis on freedom of contract, ...... United States, 397 U.S. 742, 752 (1970) (stressing that guilty pleas benefit both sides by ... by K Kipnis - 1976 - Cited by 62 - Related articlesArthur Rosett, "The Negotiated Guilty Plea," Annals of the American Academy of Political ..... surely the very opposite of what men value as freedom."'9 ... the cash, the prosecutor is merely promising benefits if you enter a guilty plea. ..... a familiar role; the assignment of grades in an academic setting. ... world I also see no problem with suspension of salary and benefits when someone is ... A nolo plea is, as a matter of law, not the same thing as a guilty plea. ... This was not civil disobedience that could fall under academic freedom, ... If the substance of the charges related to academic freedom or academic quality, ..... An arrest (and even a subsequent guilty plea) do not retroactively ... Al-Arian pleaded guilty to one...benefit of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. ... Al-Arian terrorism case drawing to a close after guilty plea ... The Supreme Court, Guilty Pleas, and the Railroading of Criminal Defendants, by Professor Julian ... including concerns regarding lost objectivity, academic freedom, and the notion that public universities exist to benefit the public. ... 931028181