On Page 1 of its Sunday, 29 DEC 96 edition, The Chicago Tribune published an excellent article written by Ms. Pam Cytrynbaum entitled New Frontier for Holocaust Denier - NU Gives Controversial Professor a Home on the Internet which focuses on educational and ethical issues raised by the introduction of INTERNET technology at Northwestern University and other institutions. While the genisis of her article was Northwestern University's firing of me and although she extensively interviewed me about those circumstances, she has correctly chosen to focus on policy issues and not on my particular situation. Accordingly, the purpose of this page is to present my response to some of the statements in her article.

1. The article states that I was fired because [I] had strayed from the class curriculum. While this appears to be Northwestern University's reason/excuse, it is demonstrably false. The class curriculum for a senior design course such as ECE- C96 - Engineering Design & Entrepreneurship was established by the Accreditation Board For Engineering Technology (ABET) and it specifically states that it is essential to include a variety of realistic constraints such as economic factors, safety, reliability, aesthetics, ethics, and social impact (Emphasis added). One reason that I was asked to teach C96 was that my combined engineering, business and law credentials made me uniquely qualified -amongst the ECE faculty members - to instruct students in analyzing problems of ethics and social impact. To understand what these subjects mean to an engineer, please see Unger, Doing The Right Thing, IEEE Spectrum, December, 1996, p. 25, et. seq., which is an analysis of the meaning and importance of the Code of Ethics of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers. I am a Senior Member of the IEEE.
   
   
2. The article quotes Northwestern University President Henry S. Bienen as stating that he would not curtail free speech by Butz or any other professor. Clearly this was not President Bienen's position in my case. Not only would he not take any act to protect my speech; but, he would not even acknowledge any e-mail messages I sent to him. Instead, a member of his staff sent me an e-mail note referring to Mr. Bienen's reply to a letter of protest from The Simon Weisenthal Center. For another point of view on free speech in a university context, please see an article by Prof. Mary Lefkowitz of Wellesley College entitled Fighting Fiction With Fact.
   
   
3. The article fails to point out that my complaint about Prof. Butz's Holocaust Revisionist publications was not that they were on the INTERNET; but, that they were on a Northwestern University WWW server having a ... nwu.edu domain name and displaying Northwestern University trademarks. I believe that the University should have demanded that Prof. Butz move his Holocaust Revisionist material to an independent service provider WWW site so that the University and its faculty would not be associated with his statements. When Dean Cohen complained about my Holocaust page, I moved CANDOR - The Language of Engineering to an independent service provider WWW site. The failure of Northwestern University to adopt my suggestion and example is proof that the Administration's concern is not free-speech - but, adverse publicity.
   
   
4. The article states that the University has told Prof. Butz that it will not tolerate his discussing the Holocaust in his class because the subject has nothing to do with what he teaches. When I explained to Dean Cohen why a discussion of Holocaust Revisionism and the Holocaust directly related to the teaching of Ethics in C96, he responded by stating that a) if I were permitted to speak in class about the Holocaust, then Prof. Butz would demand the same right and b) by talking about the Holocaust I would be giving Prof. Butz the attention he has sought. My answer was that Prof. Butz had effectively check-mated the Department, the Dean and the University; but, that Prof. Butz would not stop me because nothing that I had said or written had been shown to be in error, distorted out of context, misleading or harmful to a student. The immediate consequence of this is that I was fired - not for what I taught in my class; but, for piercing the University's self-imposed wall of silence and bringing attention to what Prof. Butz published about the Holocaust on a Northwestern University WWW server.
   
   
5. The article describes me as a part-time engineering instructor working under a contract. I wish to note that I declined an offer of a salary and served as a volunteer. My principal activities are my engineering business, Epstein Associates - K9APE and my law practice.
   
   
6. Professor Arthur Butz is quoted as saying, ... Epstein was 'out of line'. The topic of the Holocaust has no place in an engineering course. I don't think the Holocaust should be taught from any point of view, not from mine, not from his. It is my opinion that through this argument, Prof. Butz encourages Northwestern University to remain silent about the truth of World War II genocide committed by Nazis while he continues to use Northwestern University resources to broadcast his statements. I reject his argument that neither one of us should be allowed free speech in the classroom regarding Holocaust history because his price is too high. I believe that it would be far better for young Northwestern University students to learn of the truth regarding engineering participation in genocide than to remain ignorant because the subject is considered taboo by officials. If the price for teaching the truth is letting someone else teach otherwise, then I am prepared to pay it. Truth will win against falsehood; but, not when it is silenced. I believe from experience that official silence of the type Prof. Butz advocates is the principal weapon of totalitarian administrations.
   
   
7. Vice-President Michael C. Weston is quoted as saying that The university has no problem making sure professors stay on point in class. The curriculum is clearly a university product and we're entitled to ensure that what a student sees in the course catalog is indeed what's taught. I agree with Vice-President Weston; but, the problem with his statement is that Northwestern Univesity does not ensure that what a student sees in the course catalog is indeed what's taught. That there is no Quality Control at Northwestern University is clearly proven by the fact that this ninth-rated university has an Electrical & Computer Engineering Department which has been ranked 27th. I did not apply for a job at Northwestern University - I was asked to join the Department to help improve its academic standards and to teach required subjects that others were unwilling or unable to teach. Based on student comments received in their Course and Teacher Evaluation questionnaires, I believe I was making progress. If my course and my teaching brought public exposure to Prof. Butz's Holocaust-revisionist publications and faculty failure in the Department, then so be it - neither the cause nor the fault were mine.
   
   

In closing, I would like to comment on the meaning of the word college. It is defined in the American Heritage dictionary as ... a self-governing society of scholars for study or instruction incorporated within a university ... a body of persons having a common purpose or shared duties ... . To me, the words self-governing and shared duties mean that each member of a college becomes associated with and accepts responsibilites for all of the acts of the others committed under the imprimature of that college - especially when students are affected. That is no different than the rules which apply to boards of directors or partnerships when dealing with the public.

When I learned that Northwestern University was

• permitting use of its INTERNET resources by a tenured faculty member for publication of Holocaust Revisionist materials claiming that Germans did not commit acts of genocide against Jews and others during the Third Reich and alleging that Jews were perpetrating a hoax against the German people and
• trying to conceal the existence of such publications from alumni, donors, students and their families

then I took action to dissassociate myself from the publication of what I considered to be a libel and acts of malfeasance which I believe are tantamount to a fraud. Specifically, I notified the Course Director, the Department Chairman, the Dean and the President of the University - all of whom are Jewish- of my concerns, I made a statement to this effect to my students and I published my CANDOR - The Language of Engineering exercise on the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department's WWW server. To this day, I believe that my actions were correct and necessary.

While I am not surprised, I am disappointed by the lack of response of other Northwestern University faculty members to the misuse of University facilities and to the University's firing me. The few who have talked to me have stated that they have to defend Prof. Butz's right to publish Holocaust-Revisionist materials on the University's WWW server because they fear that any so-called infringement of the tenured faculty's right of free speech could be used against them. Thus out of their own self-interest and in total disregard for the welfare of the University in general and the students in particular, it appears that the tenured faculty of Northwestern University are eager to accept the benefits while they shirk the responsibilities of a self-governing society of scholars. If this is now the meaning and practice of tenure - that the search for the truth is no longer relevant, then I advocate that tenure is no longer worth maintaining.

The University's spin-meisters may try to convince you that I had other motives or that my statements are false; but, when this day is done you will know that I was fired for teaching the truth and Prof. Butz's Holocaust-Revisionists materials will still be broadcast from Northwestern University's WWW server. As much as I enjoyed the fellowship of my students, I have no wish to maintain any relationship with Northwestern University under such conditions. I submit to you that Gresham's Law has again been shown to be true.

I thank Ms. Cytrynbaum and The Tribune Company for their insightful coverage of how INTERNET resources can be used and abused on university campuses. My hope is that both Ms. Cytrynbaum's article and my WWW pages -which will remain on my own WWW site- will inspire Northwestern University alumni, donors, students and families to take actions that are necessary to restore quality and a sense of collegial purpose to the Robert McCormick School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.

29 DEC 96 - Modified 06 JAN 97