Disciplinary Action for Author of Confederate Flag Article and Editor

We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the Board of Trustees of East Carolina University, the East Carolina Media Board, and the Chancellors Executive Council institute an immediate investigation into the circumstances that gave rise to the publication of race baiting hate speech in the October 14, 2004 edition of The East Carolinian. We believe in the First Amendment right to free speech and free expression. However, the exercise of constitutional freedoms must be done with the wisdom that ones words, both written and spoken, can and do give rise to consequences and may cause emotional pain and suffering to others. We believe Mr. Peter Kalajian, through his hateful and unsubstantiated article, intentionally and unnecessarily attempted to incite racial animosities towards descendents of Confederate veterans. The families of the 200,000 Confederate dead and the innumerable other members of the Confederate armed forces who served their cause with dignity and honor deserve nothing less than the respect of all Americans. Our country, and our region, is stronger today because of their service and their sacrifice in fighting a war that was inevitable from the very founding day of our democracy. The East Carolinian has libeled their memory and the efforts of their descendents and others who are now attempting to honor in death the achievements of these brave sons of the South in life.

We respectfully request that disciplinary action be taken against Peter Kalajian, the author of the hate speech published in the October 14, 2004 edition of The East Carolinian, and against Ms. Amanda Lingerfelt, the Editor-in-Chief of The East Carolinian, for failing to fulfill proper editorial discretion in permitting the publication of intentionally inflammatory hate speech intended to incite racial animosity that has taken nearly a century and one-half of determined reconciliation efforts in eastern North Carolina to mend and overcome.