Overwhelming Positive Response to KABC, National Review; How To Contact Our College

Yesterday and today I received over 100 emails from alumni and everyday citizens concerning the story I wrote for National Review and the radio appearance on KABC (audio file to come) I made discussing Professor Frangieh's views. More than one hundred "shared" the story on Facebook and the story continues to climb on National Review's popularity index, which isn't too bad for someone who isn't a professional journalist and isn't writing about Wisconsin.

I can't possibly hope to respond to all of the emails and pass my midterms, but I wanted to let the supporters know that I hear them, that I have heard that the college hears them, too, and that you can continue to make your voice heard on this matter by using some of the information presented in this email. If you would like to make your letter open and to the wider public, please cc me when you write it.

If you want to communicate more with President Pamela Gann, Bassam Frangieh, Richard Rodner, Dean Greg Hess, here's the appropriate information for you, found very readily from the school's website, lest anyone accuse me of giving away anyone's personal information. Perhaps you'll have more luck getting one of them to speak on record.

President Pamela Gann
pamela.gann@claremontmckenna.edu 

Bassam Frangieh
Email: bfrangieh@cmc.edu, or bassam.frangieh@cmc.edu
Phone: 909 607-3484


Richard Rodner  (the PR VP who censored Wikipedia)
richard.rodner@claremontmckenna.edu

Dean of Faculty Greg Hess
Email: gregory.hess@claremontmckenna.edu
Phone: 909 621-8117

Here are some common responses that you will get from them as well as quick rebuttals:

• That Frangieh is beloved by the students which is why he won a prize for teaching. They will leave out that no students knew of his radical views then and that he's known on campus for being a very easy grader, which might explain why the program has grown so quickly. Since then, a lot of students have told me that they would reconsider voting for him in light of these charges. You might also bring up what relevance his charm has with his radical views. If anything, it's evidence that he is duplicitous -- saying one thing in Arabic and saying another in English. 

• That Frangieh doesn't support terrorism. If Frangieh believes, as he has stated that Hezbollah and Hamas ought to be legitimate governments of Lebanon and Palestine, respectively, it follows that he doesn't not view their targeting of civilians as terrorism. This is a common dodge that supporters of these terrorist organizations have used in the past. Terrorism is a tactic, not a goal. What we really want to know is does he support those organizations' ends: the extermination of Jews world-wide; denials of the Holocaust; the obliteration of Israel. Will Frangieh act on boycotting Israel has he has promised? Shouldn't it bother us that he has said nothing since these views were exposed and that he won't come out and say that he condemns Hezbollah and Hamas?

• That Frangieh is not a Muslim. I'm not sure why this is coming up over and over again, especially given that I have written repeatedly that he is a Christian, but I have a few plausible theories. First, it is meant to discredit me sub silentio. If Frangieh is a Christian and not a Muslim as some have thought, then it follows that I must have other facts not in order. Of course I do have all my facts in order, but the college wants to wiggle out of this, so they'll dissemble if they need to, especially given the close relationships that the college is developing in the Middle East. I wonder, though, if, as the college has implausibly claimed -- that Frangieh was vetted before he arrived on campus -- does this mean that someone who was a Muslim and held these views would not be hired by the college? If so, isn't this some kind of double standard? If so, isn't that a form of bigotry? 

• That I am "obsessed," "just some conservative kid," or on a "crusade" (funny choice of words, no?) against Frangieh. (These are various things that have been relayed back to me by various alumni or parents.) Unfortunately, the college wants to make the story about me, rather than the really serious charges I am leveling and the support for terrorism that I have exposed.