Posted by NEWS SERVICE on May 30, 1998 at 00:08:34:
Sample Letter - Support Kent State Students!
From: Henry Edward Hardy hhardy@ocean.ic.net
To: carol.cartwright@kent.edu
Subject: a request
Dear Ms. President,
I am writing to you to ask for clemency from your office in the cases of Nathan Solinsky, Kim Larson, Ben Brucato, and Ted Bowen.
Whatever you may think of the merits of the issue regarding the student center, it seems clear that these students acted from deeply held convictions and without any intent to cause any harm.
Academic freedom often requires that we tolerate and even welcome unpopular expressions of unpopular views. The students are your most important constituency -- to refuse to meet with them to discuss serious concerns or differences is to deny them, and all our young citizens, their constitutional and natural rights under the law.
I am the owner/operator of a popular website, ocean.ic.net. This site is visited every month by thousands of people from more than 70 countries.
We will be watching this issue and publicizing the outcome of this case locally and around the world.
Please do the right thing and release these four young people from criminal or internal judicial proceedings and begin a serious dialog with the students to negotiate in good faith over the issues which led to this situation.
I will be happy to receive your response and will be able to post a message explaining your point of view on this issue on the ocean.ic.net website along with the information from the students and their hundreds of supporters.
best wishes,
Henry Edward Hardy
owner/operator, www.ocean.ic.net
Henry Edward Hardy hhardy@ocean.ic.net http://www.ocean.ic.net/