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Kaplan revisits Hmong issues
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by Pedro Oliveira Jr.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
A University of Wisconsin professor accused of making racist comments last spring broke his months-long silence and addressed the incident Wednesday.
Law professor Leonard Kaplan was accused of dedicating several minutes of his Feb. 15 lecture to making racist comments against members of the Hmong community, sparking a series of talks regarding the issue.
UW graduate student KaShia Moua, who was not present in the Feb. 15 lecture, circulated e-mails alleging the professor had said, "Hmong men have no talent other than to kill" and "All second-generation Hmong end up in gangs and other criminal activity."
Kaplan later responded to the accusations in a letter to Law School Dean Ken Davis, in which he wrote, "Had I made the hateful comments wrongly attributed to me, I would repudiate them without hesitation. I did not make them."
On Wednesday, he said this controversy "has left important issues of principle unresolved." The event was closed to the public, and only Rotary members and their guests were allowed.
"My class discussion on Feb. 15 was intended to be sympathetic to the Hmong
people. I intended to illustrate the inadequacy of legal formalism," Kaplan said according to a transcript of the speech acquired by The Badger Herald. "My examples of cultural practice were directed against the legal system, not against any immigrant group. My examples were intended to show the disorientation that new immigrant groups can feel when confronting a formalist legal system."
According to Patricia Jenkins, Rotary Club executive director and secretary, the event drew nearly 300 people Wednesday afternoon.
In his statement, Kaplan also said universities have the obligation to show students legal principles at work in difficult and controversial settings.
"We are all harmed if professors avoid controversial material in deference to some accepted or imposed correctness or an apprehension that a topic may offend sensitivities," Kaplan said.
He added the safe setting for discourse is important to the success of the class.
"It is a law school's obligation to provide an environment in which faculty can address and teach students how to assess volatile issues," Kaplan said. "The maintenance of an appropriate environment must take precedence over the issues being discussed. If a law school fails to do this, our rights and the rule of the law itself may be put at risk."
Carl Rasmussen, Kaplan's legal advisor with Boardman Law Firm, declined comment Wednesday.
Anonymous (December 6, 2007 @ 9:40am):
Publicity stunt...why? Absent are the views from the entire Hmong American community in Madison and around the country!!
Anonymous (December 6, 2007 @ 10:31am):
"My class discussion on Feb. 15 was intended to be sympathetic to the Hmong people...I still am..."
Why held this forum at a closed door speech. Nothing personal against Prof. Kaplan and the way he address this issue so far. I encourage Prof. Kaplan to approach the Hmong community leaders of Madison to put together a public forum designated for the Hmong community of WI to kindly elaborate that the email circulation contained false information and that the Hmong community, pariticularly Hmong students, to continue their academic challenge at the University. Since Kashia was not in class that day, she MUST track down the person who passed this false information to her to clarify the issues both for the betterment of Prof. Kaplan, Kashia and other Hmong students, the Hmong community of WI, and the communicty at large.
Prof. Kaplan, if you are truly sympathetic to the Hmong, this is the most appropriate proach to truly address and clarify any misunderstanding that had caused between you and the community, not a closed door session where it's specifically for members and invited guests only. As an educator, you must also respect the Hmong cultural way of resolving/dissolving issues. Again, I respectly asking you to initiate such approach. As Americans, we do want the best for our diverse community.
May Peace Be With All of Us!
Anonymous (December 6, 2007 @ 10:35am):
A lemon will always sour no matter how much Mr. Kaplan try to sugar coat it. To say that Mr. Kaplan is a sympathetic person to the Hmong, and that those Hmong students in his class are trouble makers is just laughable. He should noticed that even the none Hmong student in class is also not feeling comfortable in his class because of his comments.
Anonymous (December 6, 2007 @ 11:24am):
He has the right to present his side of the story. Previous forums have allowed the students to present their side.
I firmly believe in cultural pluralism and teaching about diversity in higher ed...however, from what he has said I do not believe he was as offensive as the students claimed. I was not present in his classroom...yet neither was the student who lead the charge against him.
Anonymous (December 6, 2007 @ 11:52am):
Yes, he chose to do this more than 9 months afterwards and he did it in private and away from the public or those he offended. Instead of actually meeting and talking with those students he offended, he chose to speak to his rotary club...I guess that shows everyone what kind of man he is.
Anonymous (December 6, 2007 @ 12:29pm):
I don't know. I still think that since none of us Hmong were in the room during that lecture.. we really don't know what was said and what context it was in. Given that two Hmong law students heard this, we want to believe that what they heard is what was said.. but I'm still not convinced.
Anonymous (December 6, 2007 @ 2:01pm):
Whatever happened to fair, accurate and balanced covered of the news? Where are the quotes from the Hmong community?
Anonymous (December 6, 2007 @ 2:36pm):
The headline ought to be: Rotary Club Hosts Controversial Professor
Anonymous (December 6, 2007 @ 4:36pm):
Kaplan was suppose to participate in the community forum that was held after the incident. He decided, probably at the advice of his attorney (his attorney did swooped in the minute the knew he was in trouble, and gagged him)...that he would NOT attend the forum, or ANY such meetings with the Hmong community. Is this the behavior of someone who is right and wants to truly promote an atmosphere of academic freedom, and the freedom to be free from racism and bigotry? Think about it. All of his actions so far have NOT matched any of his words. He thought, and probably rightly so, (and as advised by his publicist and attorney), that a friendly audience of his peers as Rotarians will finally exonerate his name from his self-made controversy. His clinical psychology or cultural diversity hunches, obviously didn't include any knowledge about the social and political resiliency of the Hmong people to deal with issues like this. When you think about it, his Jewish background should have suggested to him that the Hmong are in some ways, kinda like the Jews. We've both suffered horrible oppression, torture, death and destruction, humiliation and discrimination throughout our entire existence as a people. And especially now as equal Americans, we were't going to just swallow whole any forms or suggestions of the kind of discrimination that other Hmong have, is, and will endure.
Anonymous (December 7, 2007 @ 12:01am):
Guilty until proven innocent, eh?
Ah, how fondly I remember "The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf".
Anonymous (December 10, 2007 @ 8:28am):
i dunno, offhand comments aren't the same thing as hate speech, even if they're inappropriate. but i do agree that he should have explained himself much earlier.
Anonymous (December 16, 2007 @ 1:16am):
Who was it that told her about the racist comment? I'm hmong, and it pissed me off reading about it, but still you have to give Kaplan the benefit of the doubt. Accusations create problems. The war in Iraq for example. Where's the witness that told Kashia about the comment? It would help clear things up a bit.
Anonymous (March 25, 2008 @ 12:19pm):
I don't know what this professor said or what he didn't say. Only those students who were in class on that fateful day know exactly what was said. However, after reading and listening to comments from some non-Hmong students and professors about what was said and what was not said, I agree that the professor is entitled to his opinion due to the freedom of speech. What I utterly disagree with is when these other students and professors who are not Hmong say that Hmong students should not be offended by what was said. Who the hell are you to say that we should not be offended? Since when did you become the moral compass of human emotions? How dare you claim the right to say whatever you want and then say that others should not feel the way they feel. Thus, in the name of freedom of speech and social satirical commentary, take your apple pie and shove it up your Chevrolet.
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