Support Artem Liebenthal, who only asked army recruiting officers a simple question. See bottom of piece for petition/actions.
Stop The War student banned from college
Sep 21 2008 by Rob Pattinson, Sunday Sun
A STUDENT got his marching orders from a college after he quizzed Army recruitment officers on campus.
Artem Liebenthal, 19, was part of a six-strong student Stop The War group when he approached the military men and asked: “How many of our students would be killed?”
When he asked the question a second time, he was threatened with security, so the Newcastle College student left.
Last Monday, three days after the incident, he received a phone call from education bosses telling him that he was banned from campus and could not attend lectures pending a disciplinary hearing, which takes place tomorrow.
Artem, living in Elswick, Newcastle, but originally of Bockhorn, Germany, said: “The whole thing just seems so unfair . . . I wasn’t violent or threatening.
“I thought colleges were supposed to be places for free speech, democracy and accountability, but I wasn’t allowed to ask a question.
“Last year, the Student Union wanted the Army banned from the campus for recruitment purposes, so I couldn’t understand what they were doing here.
“Now my whole future could be in jeopardy. I wanted to go into the law and media, but if I’m kicked out then I’ll struggle to get into a university. I feel victimised.”
No one else was reprimanded for their part in the low-key demonstration against the military men, who were at the college to recruit students to a bursary scheme offered by the Army.
A student protest is planned when Artem, a member of the Socialist Worker Student Society, SWSS, is brought before college bosses.
A statement released by Newcastle College said: “This is a non-political organisation and therefore does not associate itself with organisations such as the Socialist Worker Student Society.
“In pursuing activities associated with the SWSS, Mr Liebenthal was reported to have disregarded the reasonable requests of college staff while on college premises.
“The college had no alternative but to suspend him until the matter could be investigated and dealt with through its normal student disciplinary procedures.
“Once this process has been concluded, Mr Liebenthal will be advised of the college’s decision regarding this matter.”
SUPPORT:
http://www.petitiononline.com/nowar567/petition.html
What else you can do...
1) Email to complain to the college
linda.moore@ncl-coll.ac.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
2) Email Artem in support artem_88@web.de This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
3) Join the protest (details below)
4) Get support from your Students’/Trade Union
Join the protest
PROTEST OUTSIDE HIS DISCIPLINARY HEARING
MONDAY 22ND SEPT 12NOON, ASSEMBLE ON
ELSWICK EAST TERRACE
(Please bring union banners, delegations etc. etc.)
Sep 21 2008 by Rob Pattinson, Sunday Sun
A STUDENT got his marching orders from a college after he quizzed Army recruitment officers on campus.
Artem Liebenthal, 19, was part of a six-strong student Stop The War group when he approached the military men and asked: “How many of our students would be killed?”
When he asked the question a second time, he was threatened with security, so the Newcastle College student left.
Last Monday, three days after the incident, he received a phone call from education bosses telling him that he was banned from campus and could not attend lectures pending a disciplinary hearing, which takes place tomorrow.
Artem, living in Elswick, Newcastle, but originally of Bockhorn, Germany, said: “The whole thing just seems so unfair . . . I wasn’t violent or threatening.
“I thought colleges were supposed to be places for free speech, democracy and accountability, but I wasn’t allowed to ask a question.
“Last year, the Student Union wanted the Army banned from the campus for recruitment purposes, so I couldn’t understand what they were doing here.
“Now my whole future could be in jeopardy. I wanted to go into the law and media, but if I’m kicked out then I’ll struggle to get into a university. I feel victimised.”
No one else was reprimanded for their part in the low-key demonstration against the military men, who were at the college to recruit students to a bursary scheme offered by the Army.
A student protest is planned when Artem, a member of the Socialist Worker Student Society, SWSS, is brought before college bosses.
A statement released by Newcastle College said: “This is a non-political organisation and therefore does not associate itself with organisations such as the Socialist Worker Student Society.
“In pursuing activities associated with the SWSS, Mr Liebenthal was reported to have disregarded the reasonable requests of college staff while on college premises.
“The college had no alternative but to suspend him until the matter could be investigated and dealt with through its normal student disciplinary procedures.
“Once this process has been concluded, Mr Liebenthal will be advised of the college’s decision regarding this matter.”
SUPPORT:
http://www.petitiononline.com/nowar567/petition.html What else you can do...
1) Email to complain to the college
linda.moore@ncl-coll.ac.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it 2) Email Artem in support
artem_88@web.de This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it 3) Join the protest (details below)
4) Get support from your Students’/Trade Union
Join the protest
PROTEST OUTSIDE HIS DISCIPLINARY HEARING
MONDAY 22ND SEPT 12NOON, ASSEMBLE ON
ELSWICK EAST TERRACE
(Please bring union banners, delegations etc. etc.)
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
more info please
23.09.2008 09:12
ta
The Left tenant
Teachers union decision?
23.09.2008 20:13
I mention all this because I remember later hearing that the the National Union of Teachers AGM had proposed to do away/phase out direct in-school army recruiting and that support be offered to any staff objecting to the way army life was portrayed and their views be registered. I would have thought this student should have equal rights to object and to have their views taken into account.
Just found this link on schools rejecting army propoganda:
Miss
in the US, the ACLU would be all over this! Does this young man have a lawyer?
28.09.2008 16:46
This story has been posted widely in the US, and I found out about it through an Obama support group called Secular Humanist, with about 3000 members; it has been widely commented up, angrily I should say....
Does any of you reading this have any more information about whether this brave fellow is represented by an attorney, please? I am not volunteering to do so, but would like to help find him one.
Finally, has this made the area newspaper or the London Dailies? I would be concentrating on that, if the answer is no.
You should publish his story at OPEDNEWS.COM, something like Indy Media in its openness, but read by a lot more people.
Please reply,
Stephen Fox
Stephen Fox
e-mail:
stephen@santafefineart.com