Publication reports on student's
beliefs
By Laura Pelner
Campus
Editor
A national weekly publication serving the interests
of higher education reported on its Web site Wednesday that a Purdue
graduate student may be a "Neo-Nazi."
The Chronicle of Higher Education, which, according
to its Web site, is read by more than 450,000 college and university
administrators, reported that Paul Fallavollita, a graduate student
in political science, has "written that Jews are inferior to the 'Aryan
race' and that 'whites will win and recover a land and future for themselves.'"
The Chronicle also said Fallavollita is a member
of the National Alliance, a West Virginia-based white-supremacist group.
A professor in the political science department
who wishes to remain anonymous said people in the department have known
about Fallavollita's writings for about a month to six weeks and said
the student doesn't portray a white-supremacist attitude.
"I don't think anybody suspected any of this until
it was brought to our attention by somebody from the outside," the professor
said.
According to the professor, a number of people
in the department find it hard to deal with Fallavollita. He said people
don't go out of their way to greet or encourage him, but they don't
avoid him either.
"Nobody in the department is talking about doing
anything that would abridge the student's rights," the professor said.
The professor added that there's no easy answer. "It's just a matter
of protecting somebody's rights."
The professor said Fallavollita is not someone
whose ideas differ simply because of religion, race or sexual preference,
but that they advocate "pretty nasty things."
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that
a faculty member at Purdue found some of Fallavollita's writings on
the Internet, including the essay "Why We Will Win," which won a writing
contest sponsored by the National Alliance.
A separate piece, "A Report From the Academic Gulag,"
under Fallavollita's byline, was found on the Vanguard News Network
Web site, www.vanguardnewsnetwork.com.
According to the site, those who support it have
"come together on the Internet to reclaim the American mind from the
Jews" and advocate white power.
The article posted with Fallavollita's name says,
"My position on the issue is that my political beliefs are my business,
and what I do on the Internet is my business as well."
It says the author treats people with respect and
notes a distinction between academic and personal life.
"I do what I do because I feel a sense of responsibility
to myself and the future, and I enjoy acting in accordance with that,"
said the article. "They are my beliefs and I would promote them all
over again the same way, with no regrets."
Joe Bennett, vice president for University relations,
said Purdue doesn't have a comment because no official complaints have
been filed. He said that within a university different ideas will be
expressed, and some people won't agree with them.
"He has First Amendment rights and rights of academic
freedom," Bennett said. "Therefore, he can express any view that he
chooses as long as he doesn't break the law."
Fallavollita graduated in 1999 from Loyola University
in New Orleans with degrees in political science and philosophy. He
got a master's degree in political science from Purdue last year and
is now in the doctoral program.
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