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San Francisco State U: ok to tread on Hamas and Hizb'allah flags after all
San Francisco State University (SFSU) announced yesterday that its College Republicans will face no punishment for hosting an anti-terrorism rally at which participants stepped on makeshift Hezbollah and Hamas flags. SFSUs decision comes after months of pressure from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), national and local media, and the publicall of which called on the school to uphold the students constitutionally guaranteed right to free expression.SFSUs shameful attack on free expression began after an October 17, 2006 anti-terrorism rally at which several members of the College Republicans stepped on pieces of paper they had painted to resemble Hamas and Hezbollah flags. Unbeknown to the protestors, the flags they had copied contained the word Allah written in Arabic script. A student filed a formal complaint with the university against the College Republicans, alleging attempts to incite violence and create a hostile environment and actions of incivility. Although university administrators could have settled the matter informally or dismissed the charges outright, the university instead chose to press forward with a hearing on the charges. [Details of letters exchanged between FIRE and the university president at link] Yesterday afternoon, President Corrigan wrote to FIRE with the welcome news that the Student Organization Hearing Panel (SOHP) unanimously concluded that the College Republicans organization had not violated the Student Code of Conduct and that there were no grounds to support the student complaint lodged against them. Posted by: trailing wife 2007-03-21 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=183663 |