The Many Lives of Judd

Central Connecticut State University President Richard Judd was caught by a Hartford Courant reader for plagiarism. An Op/Ed appearing in the March 9 edition of the Courant described Judd's copying of lines from the New York Times, calling them his own words. This piece may be viewed at ctnow.com in the Other Opinion section.

For example, the Op/Ed by John J. Zakarian in the Courant said that Judd wrote the "island has for too long been contorted by tensions between Turkey and Greece." In a Jan. 7, 2003 New York Times editorial, the line "Cyprus, long contorted by tensions between Turkey and Greece ..." appeared.

Steps to pursue this have been taken and the Hartford Courant has apologized for running the article. As a response, Judd has said "I see now that in preparing a speech, which later became the basis for an op-ed in The Hartford Courant, I mistakenly assumed notes I had made were my own and I thus incorporated them without attribution. As an author of many texts and articles, I should have done a better job of vetting my text. I had no intention of using another's words or misleading readers in describing my sense of events in Cyprus," to the Courant.

If the punishment for plagiarism at CCSU can be as high as expulsion, Judd should be treated no different. The CCSU academic handbook states that academic misconduct can result in contacting "the University Judicial Officer regarding additional University disciplinary actions, which may include probation, suspension, or expulsion."

Judd has a growing list of felonies and falsehoods on his record and should therefore resign in order to preserve the integrity of this university and himself. Him staying in office provides the worst example for students to follow.

A news story from CNN.com can be found here. WFSB Channel 3 also covered the controversy.

I was interviewed by the Hartford Courant in this article, which appeared on the March 10 front page.

Haitian Turmoil

A rebellion in Haiti, led by Guy Philippe, has gained international attention from both France and the United States. Philippe claims that President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s regime was unjust and corrupt. Philippe boasted roughly 4,000 strong and threatened the governmental foundations of Haiti itself.

The Bush administration sent 50 marines into Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince to protect the U.S. Embassy and its staff. This decision came after the Haitian rebels rejected a U.S.-backed resolution because it did NOT involve the ousting of Aristide.

However, Aristide fled to Africa, claiming he was forced to leave by a U.S. coup d’etat. This statement completely contradicts the reason the U.S. entered Haiti, whether one backs the Bush administration or not. The U.S.’s plan did not demand Aristide step down.

Perhaps Aristide should have heeded the recommendation of the French, who suggested a new form of government. He has accused the United States of kidnapping him and forcing him to give up his presidency. Whatever Aristide did was enough for 4,000 people rebel on a little island nation and was in no way the fault of the United States. By the sound of Philippe’s demands, he deserved to be booted to Africa.

Any nation leader that blames a country for their own personal problems should be forcefully removed. Aristide might as well blame the Jews for the holocaust while he's at it.