By John Frana
Religious fundamentalists have been a constant thread within the social fabric of America since the founding of our great nation. Let us not forget that fundamentalists used religious beliefs to justify prohibition, the enslavement of Africans, and the denial of a woman’s right to vote. Hindsight being 20/20, we see today how they were wrong on all counts.
Most of us can recall last November when many attributed the victory of President George W. Bush to religious fundamentalists who flocked to the polls in record numbers in an attempt to support, and vote for, family values.
In the aftermath of those elections a type of religious fervor prevailed and anyone who spoke against religious fundamentalism were often seen as unpatriotic. A victim of this most recent witch hunt was Dr. John McTighe.
McTighe, a professor of Sociology, put forth a whimsical, hypothetical proposition during one of his classes. In this class, which followed the 2004 election, the vast majority of students seemed to have opposed the results of the election. I was a student in McTighe’s class when the proposition was made.
Several weeks after the fact an article authored by Brian Yates, who was not in the class in question, appeared in The Louisville Patriot. It stated that McTighe made statements advocating violence against religious zealots.
Several Web sites picked this publication up and posted these unsubstantiated statements on the Web. However, to date no formal complaint by any student has been submitted to the University of Louisville. As a result of this slander posted on religious Web pages, fundamentalists bombarded U of L with over 1,600 messages of protest over McTighe’s comments. On Dec. 13, 2004, U of L withdrew McTighe’s contract. McTighe did not fight this decision, as he stated that he had “confidence in the university process.”
McTighe would often encourage students to speak out against society’s injustices. It is the injustice of the “university process” that I wish to speak out about now. Although McTighe was back on campus teaching and with a new contract in place this past semester, U of L has yet to acknowledge the injustice of McTighes’ suspension.
At the time of his suspenstion, U of L President James Ramsey stated that “we strongly support academic freedom” while “the quote attributed to Professor McTighe is unacceptable and not an issue of academic freedom.” Meanwhile, Provost Shirley Willihnganz said that “our goal is to determine the facts in this matter and to act responsibly to both students and faculty.”
The university process has run its course and the overwhelming facts are that comments made by McTighe were taken out of context. The university, feeling pressured by religious zealots, acted irrationally in suspending McTighe. To date the university has yet to “act responsibly” and publicly absolve McTighe of any wrong-doing.
In personal conversations with me during this past semester, McTighe expressed that he felt betrayed by the university’s lack of support for him and by its inability to stand strong in the face of external pressures.
It is time for the university to acknowledge the wrong it has perpetrated against an honorable man and to stop being scared of religious fundamentalists outside of campus.
John W. McTighe, Ph.D., died from a massive heart attack on Dec. 1, 2005. Too much time has passed already, so now is the time for President Ramsey and U of L to “act responsibly” and “Dare to be Great” by admitting their mistake and publicly clearing McTighe’s name. He deserves it.
