College Professor Says "Kill The President" Was Just An Exercise

[Woodsy]

College Professor Says "Kill The President" Was Just An Exercise

POSTED: 6:54 p.m. PDT July 10, 2003

PETALUMA, Calif. - -- Political science teacher Michael Ballou said Thursday the furor over his classroom "kill the president" e-mail assignment has been "blown far out of proportion."


Ballou, who teaches Introduction to Government at Santa Rosa Junior College's Petaluma campus caught the attention of both the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI when a student told his mother about the homework assignment and she in turn called the FBI.


Another student e-mailed "kill the president, kill the president" to the office of U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D- Napa Valley, in Washington D.C. over the Independence Day weekend and Thompson's office contacted Capital police on Monday. Then the Secret Service got involved.



The whole idea, Ballou said, was for students to experience "the wave of fear and paranoia" many U.S. citizens have of their government, and merely typing the words "kill the president" let alone hitting the "send" button on their computer, serves as an object lesson in that fear.


Ballou said he never exhorted the students to actually send the "kill the president" e-mail and that it was a hypothetical experiment he has conducted in class for many years.


Students were instructed to type anything and at the bottom of the e-mail to include "kill the president, kill the president," Ballou said.


Nine students were interviewed by the Secret Service. Ballou said the Secret Service informed him that "the parameters were so vague that I was off the hook."


Richard Stribling, assistant to the special agent in charge of the Secret Service Office in San Francisco, said the agency does not comment on ongoing investigations but that it takes all threats to the life of the president seriously.


Stribling said it will be up to the U.S. Attorney's Office to decide if there has been a violation and if the case will be prosecuted. The Secret Service just gathers the facts, he said.


Stribling also questioned the intent of the classroom assignment.

"Was it to violate the law," he asked.


Ballou noted the e-mail did not say "kill the President," which could imply President Bush, nor did it say "kill President Bush."


In classroom discussions since the brouhaha over the late June assignment erupted on Monday, Ballou said students have said the reaction to the message making its way to the authorities proved that such fear and paranoia exists.


He said the furor has affected his cramming four months of subject matter into a six-week summer school course. The class ends in about two weeks.


College officials have not informed him of any disciplinary action so far, said Ballou, who has been an adjunct, part-time professor at the college for 12 years.


SRJC President Robert Agrella and Doug Garrison, executive dean of the Petaluma campus, also did not immediately return calls for comment.

Copyright 2003 by Bay City News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


Full article here.

 

[Reader Nilus]

That professor is pretty stupid.
Jeff the Finn

 

[Isaac112086]

... well it's a much better idea then sending people to there death tring to kill other people...

 

[cenimo]

How about a "take out a professor" campaign being conducted at the very same college...flyers printed up with the words "take out a professor" and a rifle with a scope in the bacground, left on the cars in the faculty parking lot, and most of them left on this guy's car....how's that for an experiment, Professor? DUH! The secret service is required to investigate any threat, no matter how light, against the President. you would think a political science professor would know that.

 

[Woodsy]

Exactly. You are correct, cenimo.

 

[Fritzpw]

I'd have to agree that the prof used poor judgment.

 

[platzapS]

That's quite an experiment. Risky, but as long as everything cleared out, it is an interesting example in paranoia.

 

[Pretzel]

At least there is one sane person in your country.

 

[Lanakila]

That is as ridiculous. Inciting murder of the leader of our government, and Commander in chief is now the only sane thing in our country. Some people need to come back down to reality.

 

[Woodsy]

Any threat to any American President's life is always treated as serious as a joke about a bomb on an airplane. Any such threats are investigated, even if made "in jest."
Dissent is allowed in America. Trying through legal means to get an elected representative out of office is legal.
Attempting the violent overthrow of our government is not legal. Even belonging to a group that advocates the violent overthrow of our government will limit your opportunities to serve within the military.
If my kids complain about my policies and rules, that's fine. But if they start talking about killing me, even as a "joke," that's gonna stop quick.
And a grown-up who wasn't just desperately in search of attention would know the difference.