LAW ENFORCEMENT VISITS PROFESSOR

Academe, May/Jun 2006 by Bradley, Gwendolyn

In March, local law enforcement officials working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force visited Pomona College professor of history Miguel Tinker-Salas at his office and questioned him about what he teaches and whether the Venezuelan government or its embassy in Washington had tried to influence his views. The deputies also questioned several students waiting outside his office to meet the professor, asking about the content of Tinker-Salas 's classes and what they thought of his teaching. Tinker-Salas is a prominent critic of U.S. policy toward Venezuela.

Pomona College president David Oxtoby promptly issued a statement protesting the "chilling effect this kind of intrusive government interest could have on free scholarly and political discourse." A few days later, the FBI's Los Angeles field office issued a statement saying, "there was no intent on the part of the FBI, regarding the timing or location, to place the professor, his students, or Pomona College in an uncomfortable position." Los Angeles County sheriff Lee Baca also expressed regret, telling the Los Angeles Times that the officers should have "avoided the college grounds or at least called ahead."

While welcome, the statements by the FBI and the sheriff's office do not address the crux of the issue, says Jonathan Knight, director of the AAUP's department of academic freedom and tenure, since the questions put to Tinker-Salas and his students about his classes and the sources of his ideas would be objectionable regardless of whether law enforcement officials had called ahead or approached the professor in another place and time.

"Whatever the mandate of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, it should not include inquiries into academic writing, teaching, and learning of this sort." Knight says. "It is through the encouragement of freedom of expression, not its repression, that the nation's security is enhanced."-G.B.