John Yoo awarded Fletcher Jones Distinguished Visiting
Professorship
John Yoo
2008-9 Fletcher Jones Distinguished
Visiting Professor of Law
Chapman
University School
of Law
One
University Drive, Orange,
California 92866
Think of all that orange: Orange, the color of the jumpsuits
donned by anti-torture activists demonstrating within and around John Yoo's
Boalt Hall campus refuge, the attire of the victims Yoo's "legal" memos condemned
to lives of torture and despair. Orange, the
color of the ribbons pinned to the everyday attire of concerned Berkeley residents and
students, signifying their condemnation of the horrible crimes of illegal
detention and torture being committed in their names, while the author of those
crimes strolls freely among them on their streets and within their UC campus. Orange, the color of the billboard prominently displayed
in downtown Berkeley
with the words, "Torture + Silence = Complicity," that invited residents and
visitors alike to reflect on their responsibility in these matters and act [1].
And now, Orange, CA,
the location of John Yoo's latest professional venture -- distinguished visiting
Professor of Law, Chapman
University.
What does this new appointment mean?
For John Yoo, perhaps it means another feather in his professional cap, peer recognition,
and salary enhancement. It helps further legitimize the myth of him as a
successful and worthwhile member of the community. For Chapman University
School of Law, it means added prestige, enhanced school ranking, and a ballooning
student applicant pool [2]. For UC Berkeley, we might venture to say they gain from
the added "prestige" this appointment affords their tenured law professor.
But what does John Yoo's visiting
professorship mean for the students at Chapman University School of Law? The
answer is the same as that for the students of Boalt Law: the legitimacy of exposing
students of law to the instruction of a professor whose legal and scholarly
advice has resulted in such disastrous national policy and the suffering and
death of untold torture victims has to be seriously challenged [3].
There's no word that Yoo's position as
Professor of Law at Boalt Hall has changed with his appointment as visiting
professor at Chapman University School of Law. So what does this mean for the
City of Berkeley?
Might Yoo's appointment at Chapman be considered an "outside matter," much as his
guilt or innocence for his acknowledged war crimes and crimes against humanity
might be considered an "outside" national matter [4]? Most certainly not.
On December 8th the Berkeley
City Council will have the opportunity to take up the matter of John Yoo during
a public hearing on a resolution submitted by the Berkeley Peace and Justice
Commission recommending the firing and disbarment of John Yoo and his
prosecution for war crimes [5]. It should be very clear by now that if the City
of Berkeley does not act decisively to hold John Yoo to account for his crimes,
not only will it allow Yoo continued use of his "privileged" position in
Berkeley to move into other venues within academia, but it will open the door
for other criminal elements within the Bush administration to follow suit.
[1] Peace
Activists Use Billboard to Call for Firing of UC Law Professor, Judith
Scherr, August 07, 2008, http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-08-07/article/30768?headline=Peace-Activists-Use-Billboard-to-Call-for-Firing-of-UC-Law-Professor
[2] Chapman
Ups The Reputation Ante With Some Big Name Faculty, Petra Pasternak, October
07, 2008, http://theshark.typepad.com/weblog/2008/10/chapman-ups-the.html
[3] Blame
Berkeley, Phillip Carter, April 14, 2008, http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/convictions/archive/2008/04/14/blame-berkeley.aspx
[4] White
Paper On The Law Of Torture And Holding Accountable Those Who Are Complicit In
Approving Torture Of Persons In U.S. Custody, National Lawyers Guild, http://www.nlg.org/news/statements/White%20Paper%20-%20Yoo%20hearing.doc
[5] Berkeley
City Council to Consider Resolution Urging Prosecution of John Yoo, Linda
Rigas, December 4, 2008, http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/38067
