Maine College Republicans to Host Islamofascism Awareness Events at the State's Colleges and Universities

in

October 23, 2007
Release No. 07-21
Contact: Ralph Kettell, (207) 660-5062

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Maine College Republicans to Host Islamofascism Awareness Week Events on College and University Campuses Across Maine

AUGUSTA - Maine College Republicans will host several events for “Islamofascism Awareness Week” at colleges and universities across Maine over the next week. The University of Maine-Farmington College Republicans will be the first to do so on Tuesday, October 23 at 7:00 PM. Planned events on that campus include speeches from Maine Army National Guard Sergeant Mike Collins and retired professor John Frary about radical Islam. Immediately following their remarks, there will be a screening of the award-winning film Obsession. Both events will take place at the Olsen Student Center located at 111 South Street in Farmington.

Later in the week, the Bates College Republicans will be hosting a screening of the two-part documentary series The Path to 9/11. The film is tentatively scheduled to be shown at the Edmund Muskie Archives located at 70 Campus Avenue in Lewiston.

Maine College Republican State Chairman Nathaniel Walton (Bates ’08) offered the following statement about the events planned for Islamofascism Awareness Week on college and university campuses across Maine:

“Increasing awareness about radical Islam is critically important and I commend the efforts of the University of Maine-Farmington and Bates College Republicans in doing so. These events will bring an important topic to the forefront of debate and will hopefully provoke constructive discussion of foreign policy on college and university campuses across Maine.”

Keith Mahoney, Chairman of the University of Maine-Farmington College Republicans, hopes that students will come to the events with an open mind:

“The UMF College Republicans believe that it is important to expose an extremist element of a traditionally peaceful religion to the student body. Many Americans have sacrificed their lives to protect us against the forces of radical Islam and preserve our freedom and security. Discussing radical Islam in this way will honor the sacrifice of fallen Americans and provide students a better understanding of the views held by radical Islamic terrorists and the threat they pose to the Western world. The UMF College Republicans are proud to have worked with the David Horowitz Freedom Center and the Terrorism Awareness Project in bringing these events to our campus.”

Sergeant Mike Collins has served the United States honorably in the Maine Army National Guard since joining in 2002. Sergeant Collins was deployed to Iraq in 2004 with the 133rd Engineering Battalion. He now works full time at the State Headquarters in the Operations Office. Collins is a University of Maine-Farmington alumnus, having graduated in 2003 with a degree in political science and a business administration minor. Originally, Collins hails from Mt. Clemens, Michigan.

John Frary is a retired professor of military history. Mr. Frary is a regular contributor to the Franklin Journal and writes a weekly editorial for the Morning Sentinel and the Kennebec Journal. In addition, he currently serves as a selectman for the Town of Farmington. Frary is a native of Farmington.

Islamofascism Awareness Week is an effort to expose the nature of radical Islam and the dangers of Islamic terrorism. More than 200 colleges across the United States are scheduled to participate in the week’s events. For more about Islamofascism Awareness Week, please visit the website of the Terrorism Awareness Project at http://www.terrorismawareness.org.

Chairman Mahoney is available for interviews/further comments about the events being held at University of Maine-Farmington for Islamofascism Awareness Week. Chairman Mahoney can be reached by telephone at (978) 551-3636 or by e-mail at umf@mainecr.org. For further details about Islamofascism Awareness Week events at other Maine college campuses, please contact Maine College Republican State Chairman Nathaniel Walton by telephone at (207) 240-4549 or by email at chairman@mainecr.org.

For more information about the Maine College Republicans, please visit the statewide organization’s website at http://www.mainecr.org.

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