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Southern
offering class on terrorism Editor-in-Chief Like
the rest of the world, Missouri Southern has gained a huge interest in
international terrorism. Richard
Spencer, assistant professor of criminal justice, now teaches a class
based on terrorism. One
of the good things about this class is that there s just a tremendous
number of resources out there now, he said. Spencer
said he uses the Internet, magazine and newspaper articles, and
textbooks as instruction tools for International Terrorism. Before
this course, Spencer taught International Justice Systems. But after
spending time with counter-terrorism units of law enforcement in Britain
and Spain, he developed the idea for the International Terrorism course. I
used to start out that class [International Justice Systems] by telling
students some time in the very near future, there would be a significant
act of terrorism on the United States, he said. Now
that he teaches International Terrorism, Spencer said some of the
students who did not believe that statement before, now realize the
threat the United States faces after Sept. 11, 2001. The
class has studied the definition of terrorism, myths and the
representation of women in terrorism, intelligence conceptions and
terrorist groups across nations. Pepper Guthrie, senior criminal justice
major, said the definition of terrorism is vague. I ve
liked learning about exactly what terrorism is, she said. But
it s hard to pinpoint exactly what a terrorist act is. Guthrie
said she enrolled in the class because terrorism is a hot topic now, and
many jobs will be opening related to terrorism prevention. As
the class studies religion and terrorism this week, Spencer will
incorporate studies of Sept. 11 into the course. It s
role [Sept. 11] in this class will be representative of the trend in
terrorism, particularly terrorism directed toward the U.S., he said.
Sept. 11 will really come into play with some of the changes in the
laws in the U.S. We ll spend a good deal of time talking about how
much more latitude, if any, law enforcement authorities ought to have
based on the new threat of terrorism. There are a lot of controversial
laws being appealed in the federal courts right now. Spencer
said he was surprised many students enrolled in his course believe law
enforcement officials have been given too much leeway, particularly in
detaining suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without trial. Some
students taking International Terrorism worked as military prison guards
at Guantanamo Bay and are now serving active duty at Ft. Benning, Ga. One
of those students, Eric Z. Wynn, sergeant E-5, said he spent about five
months in Guantanamo Bay and was in direct contact with the detainees.
He said most Americans have the misconception the men being held there
are mistreated. I
think that if you asked most Americans, they wouldn t hesitate to drop
a bomb in the middle of the detention facility and do away with all of
the men being held there, Wynn said. Unfortunately, to my
knowledge, not all of the men being held there are terrorists. Wynn
works for the Jasper County Sheriff s Department while at home, and
said the men being held at Guantanamo Bay, however, are treated fairly. The
detainees at Guantanamo are treated with just as much respect and given
just as much nutritional and medical care as the inmates at our county
jail, he said. In
response to whether it is fair to detain the suspected terrorists
without trial, Wynn said the military will not allow him to answer. He
did say, however, when making decisions, the U.S. government has the
interests of the American people at the top of their list of
priorities. Captain
Monte Powell is also currently active in the military, but is able to
take the class at Southern. He said he is taking the class to prepare
for a government position in Washington, D.C. I
hope to learn terrorism and counter-terrorism techniques because it goes
hand-in-hand with military operations, he said. Powell
said Sept. 11 did not have an effect of him taking this class, but that
day had a huge impact on his military life. This
is probably the most motivating time to be in the military, he said.
It gives you the opportunity to protect our freedom, which most
people aren t willing to do. Guthrie,
however, said the events of Sept. 11 did influence her to enroll in
International Terrorism. She said the terrorist attacks made her think
about her life and the strength of the United States. In
April, Spencer visited Ground Zero in New York and said many people
across the nation, not just students at Southern, feel the same as
Guthrie. Sept.
11 is probably the defining moment of most people s lives in terms of
world events, he said. There s no question that it spawned a
tremendous amount of interest. Wynn
said he would have taken the class regardless of the events of Sept. 11,
but the event did increase his curiosity, especially since he is in the
Army. I
have a new personal
interest in terrorism and the methods for combating terrorism, he
said. |