Homeland Security

Featured in The Appalachian (October 3, 2006) by HEATHER SANDERS News Reporter Appalachian State University’s department of political science and criminal justice is offering homeland security as a new selected topics course this semester. “[The Department of Homeland Security] is new and significant to governmental structure,” Dr. James F. Barnes, interim departmental chairman, said. President George W. Bush announced the creation of the Department of Homeland Security nine days after the Sept. 11 attacks. Andrew W. Ferguson, a sociology instructor, is teaching the class. Barnes said Ferguson was chosen because of his expertise in the field. Ferguson spent 10 years in the Air Force and three years in special operations. He also spent seven years in law enforcement, where he was a part of tactical operations and gave instruction in operations and police procedure. Ferguson said he approaches homeland security as a public safety problem. “It doesn’t matter if a terrorist or Mother Nature blows down a dam,” Ferguson said. “It’s still a problem.” Ferguson said he teaches that homeland security is not just about counterterrorism. Ferguson said terrorists have to use unconventional warfare to invade the United States because it is the only way. “We’re being sold fear,” Ferguson said. He said there are greater environmental threats to prepare for. Hurricane Katrina, for example, is a Homeland Security Department issue. Ferguson said students in the class learn how terrorism works, as well as what strategies are in place to protect the country. Students also learn about the importance of civil liberties when it comes to making policy. Ferguson said once people become policymakers, it is too easy to restrict civil liberties, some of which can never be regained. “It is your responsibility as an educated person not to let fear override intellect,” Ferguson said. The department offers a second homeland security class next semester, Barnes said. Ferguson said the class would be more advanced with a lot more research than the lecture class this semester. The United States lacks cultural understanding, so it uses economic incentives or military force with other countries, he said. Ferguson said homeland security, like Sept. 11, will become part of our culture and our history.