Student Support Letter III

Dr. Lois B. de Fleur,
PresidentBinghamton University
cc: Brian Rose, Vice President for Student Affairs
Laura Bronstein, Chair, Department of Social Work

This letter is in support of Andre Messena with regard to his battle for his constitutional right of freedom of speech and educational freedom, afforded to him by a higher educational institution. This point is explicitly outlined in Binghamton University’s “The Report of thePresident's Commission on Free Speech and Academic Freedom”- ExecutiveSummary, written in May, 1992; in particular section B. According to this section each student at a public institution has the same level ofacademic freedom as professors and as far as I know.

Binghamton University, being part of the SUNY system is a public institution. As far as Andre’s situation is concerned, it is my understanding that he was actually fulfilling his role as a social worker in terms of practicing the values of the code of ethics as established by the NationalAssociation of Social Workers in 1996.

Some of these codes include: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence. The flyers he distributedat the University Downtown Center were merely bringing to the university community’s attention the injustices being experienced by a family at the hands of the Binghamton Housing Authority.

Andre is the epitome of a social worker with regard to his communityservice and the passion he has with helping individuals who have been forgotten by the social service system. Two prime examples of this is his continued commitment to working with victims of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and his work within the community which he lives in Binghamton.

I believe Andre is being treated unfairly by the Social Work Department of Binghamton University and should be given the opportunity to finish hisstudies. If he is forced to leave the university it would be a huge lossto the community of Binghamton and he would have every right to pursue legal recourse. Feel free to contact me with any questions or if there is a need forclarification.

Sincerely,