Some at EWU want speaker back

If you didn’t know who Ward Churchill was a month ago, you likely know his name now.

Churchill is the controversial Colorado professor who sparked a national controversy with his 2001 essay that compared victims of Sept. 11 to a Nazi leader. His planned talk at Eastern Washington University was canceled this month by Eastern President Stephen Jordan, who cited safety concerns.

Churchill has received death threats around the country. Several other colleges canceled his scheduled speeches, including the University of Oregon.

On Monday, EWU’s faculty senate passed an initiative to reinvite Churchill to campus.

At the faculty senate meeting, a representative of the associated student government announced that a similar proposal would soon appear before the student council, said Tony Flinn, president of the United Faculty of Eastern.

Wednesday, the Native American Student Association released a statement about its disagreement with Jordan’s decision to cancel their keynote speaker during their annual week of educational Indian events.

“We do not believe the stated reasons made by President Jordan were justified or valid to terminate professor Churchill’s appearance for the activities of American Indian awareness week,” which starts April 4, said Ryan Yellowjohn, president of the student group.

Martha Tule, a graduate student and member of the Native American Student Association, said the group is working with representatives from the University of Washington, North Idaho College and Washington State University to bring Churchill to Eastern.