>
>          "Islamic Extremism and the Fight Against Terror" will be held
> November 12 at
> 5 p.m. in 129 Grote Hall on the UTC campus, located adjacent to the
> University Center on Vine Street. Speakers will be Dr. Meir Litvak,
> visiting professor at Emory University and Israeli citizen and Major Andy
> Dietz, United States Marine Corps, whose personal decorations include the
> Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two Gold Stars and the Armed
> Forces Expeditionary Medal.>>

First and foremost, I am not making any assumptions about the presenters or
the presentation. I have no reason to believe that both are not excellent
and will present this information and these issues in a very fair way. And I
am not criticizing those who put their time and resources toward this
presentation. We need more events of this type.

BUT,

The title makes me wish we had at least had some presentations to raise the
awareness of Islamic religion and the Islamic culture in general BEFORE we
get into depth about "extremist terrorism" and such. I have suggested this
type of programming in the past with a favorable response and have offered
to help with arranging such a presentation. My concern is that the title
will attract a variety of people with a variety of attitudes, and that at
least some portion of them could develop a more narrow, limited, and
stereotyped impression of a significant population of our planet.

It's possible I'm being picky and, again, I applaud the general concept of
these types of interactions and events on campus. If so, please don't flame
me. Just nod your head sadly and close this message.

Respectfully Offered,

Ed Smith