AP, November 14, 2002

St. Xavier University apologizes for professor's criticism of Air Force Academy student

St. Xavier University has apologized for a blistering e-mail from one of its professors to an Air Force Academy student that said U.S. military personnel were partly to blame for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Peter Kirstein, a history professor at St. Xavier in Chicago, was responding to an e-mail from Air Force cadet Robert Kurpiel asking for help to promote an academic forum at the academy. Kirstein's reply read, "I am furious you would even think I would support you and your aggressive baby killing tactics of collateral damage," The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported Thursday.

The e-mail also compared Kurpiel to the sniper or snipers who terrorized the Washington area.

St. Xavier President Richard Yanikoski posted an apology on the school's Web site.

"I offer my most sincere apologies to all in the military and beyond whose sacrifices and intentions have been denigrated by professor Kirstein's words," he wrote.

Kirstein, a tenured professor who has taught at St. Xavier for 28 years, also apologized. "I should have written him in a more thoughtful and contemplative manner," he said in a letter posted on St. Xavier's Web site.

Yanikoski said Kirstein's e-mail was not protected by academic freedom. St. Xavier spokeswoman Michelle Michael said the university is considering a disciplinary hearing.

Air Force Academy officials declined to comment.

Kurpiel had asked help promoting the Academic Assembly in February on "America's Challenges in an Unstable World: Balancing Security with Liberty."