Letter to the Editor: Kent State’s Moral Double Standard

I was impressed by Kent State’s standard of morality last spring when a Kent State student athlete was suspended from participating in the NCAA post-season tournaments for using a slur against the gay community on his twitter account.

Recently, Kent State University associate professor of history Julio Pino, widely known for shouting “death to Israel” at public event on Kent State’s campus in 2011, called for “jihad” against Israel. In an “open letter” to “academic friends of Israel,” Julio Pino accuses the pro-Israel academic community of being “directly responsible for the murder of over 1,400 Palestinian children, women and elderly civilians.” The letter also accuses the “academic friends of Israel” of being aligned with “a regime that is the spiritual heir to Nazism.” This is an example of anti-Semitic incitement in a feeble anti-Israel disguise.

If a slur on the Twitter account of a student athlete is grounds for suspension, what type of punishment would the anti-Semitic incitement in an open letter to fellow academics while representing KSU bring? We shall see. Or does Kent State have a double standard of morality when it comes to associate professors?

Evan Bernstein