To the editor,
Professor Maria Lima's article, "U.S. a terrible example of free speech's ideals," in the Nov. 16, 2006 issue of The Lamron is an irresponsible use of free speech. Professor Lima is using the recent free speech controversy at Geneseo to promote her extreme political views to incite anti-U.S. sentiment among Geneseo students without informing or educating them. This is in stark contrast to Professor Koch's article, "Free speech important, but boundaries must be drawn." Dr. Koch's article is thoughtful and attempts to inform Geneseo's students about the history, purpose and challenges of free speech in America - a responsible and appropriate use of free speech. Professor Lima's article tells our students to equate free-speech with anti-U.S. political views without explaining her position. She claims that the United States has white supremacist policies, but her only means for substantiating her claim is to refer to the views of a convicted murderer on death row. It almost seems that she would want students to believe her point of view without thinking it through. That doesn't sound like free speech to me - it sounds like demagoguery. If Professor Lima believes in the responsible use of free speech, she owes it to the students of Geneseo to explain how and why she thinks the United States promotes white supremacist policies in the world today, and how and why she infers that the United States is a rogue state.
-David Rasmussen, Geneseo Class of '88