An upstate New York college has drawn some harsh criticism after yesterday’s announcement that a former radical has been hired as an instructor. In January, Hamilton College, located in Clinton, New York, will offer a class called 'Resistance Memoirs: Writing, Identity and Change.' The instructor of this course is Susan Rosenberg who, in 1984 was convicted of weapons possession and sentenced to serve 58 years in prison.
In 1981, Rosenberg and another defendant, Timothy Blunk, were arrested while carrying 740 pounds of explosives, a submachine gun and false identification. While not denying the charges, Rosenberg and Blunk claimed that their actions were morally justified efforts to protest U.S. government oppression. At the time, she claimed her harsh punishment was due, in part, to her anti-war activities during the Vietnam War as well as her work in support of African-American and Puerto Rican liberation.
She was also indicted for a Brink’s robbery in 1981 which resulted in the death of a guard and two police officers. Charges in that case were later dismissed, but, because she was associated with some of the perpetrators, she drew the attention of the media and the anger of law enforcement personnel in the New York/New Jersey area.
Opponents to Rosenberg’s hiring challenge her credentials (she earned a master’s degree in creative writing while incarcerated) and question the reasoning behind her being hired. 'If you're going to bring Susan Rosenberg here and say her minimal credentials are sufficient to teach a course on activism,' said history professor Robert Paquette, 'why not bring in David Duke on race or O.J. Simpson on the sociology of sports?'
However, others are defending this decision, stating that she is an example of how an individual can be rehabilitated while serving time. Rosenberg first came to the attention of the college last year when she served on a panel discussion.
Tiny Hamilton College, which is located east of Syracuse, is no stranger to notoriety. In 2001, a visiting professor, Brigitte Boisselier, was forced to quit after it was revealed that she was a member of the Raelian cult. This cult believes that the human race is the result of cloning of aliens. Then, in 2002, the then-president, Eugene Tobin resigned in disgrace after he admitted to plagiarism.
