- WINSTON-SALEM, NC
-- Carolina teacher Elizabeth Ito has appealed her firing from Forsyth
Technical Community College, which came after she made remarks critical
of the conduct of the war in Iraq. Her firing, which has been widely criticized
by local anti-war activists and free speech advocates, is seen as part
of a larger crack-down on dissent and academic freedom. "It is clear
that Elizabeth didn't lose her job because she expressed a personal opinion
in the classroom," said Liz Seymour, a member of the Ito Defense Coalition.
"She lost her job because of the opinion she expressed."
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- On Friday, March 28, 2003 Elizabeth, a first-year English
teacher at Forsyth Tech, spent ten minutes at the beginning of her business
writing class voicing her concerns about the war in Iraq. During this time
the US military was encountering much unanticipated resistance in its push
toward Baghdad and the previous night's news had reported that 30,000 more
troops were being called up, a figure that by the next morning had risen
to 120,000. Elizabeth wrote these numbers on the board and asked the students
what they would do if the government had to start drafting. After class
had ended two students complained to Elizabeth's supervisor Susie Keener,
Chair of the Department of Humanities/Communication, that Elizabeth had
criticized the war in class.
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- The following Monday morning Susie Keener and John Slade,
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, met with Elizabeth for over two
hours to discuss the incident. At the end of the meeting Dean Slade asked
Elizabeth to promise not to raise the topic of the war again in class.
Elizabeth said that she had no intention of revisiting the subject but
that she was unwilling to bind herself to a promise. Later that week Dean
Slade presented Elizabeth with a disciplinary letter that concluded with
the statement "this matter is resolved."
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- Elizabeth, who had been commended for her teaching in
a series of official reviews throughout the year did not, in fact, discuss
the war again in class. Nonetheless, on May 15 she received a certified
letter at her home informing her that Forsyth Tech no longer needed her
services. In the weeks following her dismissal Elizabeth's students spoke
out on her behalf-even one of the students who originally complained to
the Forsyth Tech administration told Michelle Johnson a reporter for the
Winston-Salem Journal, that he did not think Elizabeth should have been
fired for her remarks.
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- Ito's firing has received widespread press attention
in North Carolina including articles in the Winston-Salem Journa, the Durham
Herald-Sun. the Greensboro News & Record, and the Carolina Peacemaker.
A story was also broadcast on the local NPR affiliate. "This is not
just about me or about my job," said Ito. "It's about something
very disturbing that is happening all over the country. I want people to
understand that if it could happen hee it could happen anywhere."
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- <http://www.communityforpeace.net/>Ito Defense
Coalition
- 336/760-8798
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