From Deseret News archives:
Banner supports BYU's Jones
Hand-lettered bedsheet is hung from overpass
The white bedsheet with spray-painted lettering appeared to be a show of unity for Brigham Young University physics professor Steven Jones, a hero to many in the movement for his research on molten metal and dust from ground zero.
BYU placed Jones on paid leave last week while it conducts a review of his statements and writings about Sept. 11, 2001.
The sign on the Carterville Road overpass said, "They will do whatever we let them get away with" and included a Web site address, www.911truth.org. The Web site claims to be "a campaign to expose the truth of 9/11."
Neither Jones nor a spokesman for the Web site knew who placed the sign on the fence across the overpass. Jones declined further comment.
"It's nice people are expressing solidarity for Dr. Jones," said Mike Berger, spokesman for 911truth.org. "We support Professor Jones' speaking out publicly and regret that there seems to be no more academic freedom for professors. We appreciate Professor Jones' work, his research and his willingness to speak out on this issue."
The Web site includes an editor's note about BYU's decision to place Jones on leave.
"The good doctor Jones is finally called to task for speaking 9/11 truth in an archconservative clime," the editor's note says. "The upsides of this insult are obvious and significant — increased issue visibility, the investigative involvement of real (and perhaps even honest) scientists, and lots more free time for Dr. Jones to spread the gospel locally and globally.
"The downsides, however, could be painful and unnerving, and we wish Professor Jones and his family strength and grace."
Jones has said his experiments show evidence of thermate, a compound used in military charges used to cut through steel. Jones believes the World Trade Center towers fell not only because they were struck by planes but because a group inside the U.S. government detonated pre-positioned charges throughout the two towers and a third building that collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001.
He is not directly affiliated with 911truth.org but spoke at a conference in June sponsored by the group. Jones is co-founder of Scholars for 9/11 Truth, which has its own eponymous Web site, www.scholarsfor911truth.org.
A BYU spokeswoman has said the university relieved Jones of the two classes he was teaching this semester so administrators can review what statements he may have made in classes, whether the paper he wrote about his research was subjected to acceptable academic peer review and submitted to appropriate journals and if Jones has inappropriately tied the university to his public statements.
The review could take several months.
E-mail: twalch@desnews.com
