There is a petition going around in response to the recent attacks on dissident
academics. I hope that you will sign the petition below. Send your name and
affiliation to Phil Gasper at [log in to unmask] or to the address below.
Ansar
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2001 16:32:53 -0800
From: Academic Freedom <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Academic Freedom Statement
PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY
The following statement in defense of academic freedom is being circulated
by concerned faculty members. If you would like to endorse the statement,
please send your name, academic position and affiliation, and contact
information to [log in to unmask] Non-academic endorsers are
also welcome.
We hope to publish the statement as a full page ad in the New York Times and
possibly other media outlets with the names of hundreds or thousands of
endorsers. The cost will be many thousands of dollars. If you would like to
make a contribution towards the cost of publishing the statement, please
send a check to:
Center for Economic Research and Social Change
P.O. Box 258082
Chicago, IL 60625
Mark your check ?Academic Freedom Ad?.
Please contact the email address above if you have any questions or
comments.
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To fellow teachers and staff members:
In the crisis precipitated by the terrible events of September 11, members
of academic communities across the U.S. have participated in teach-ins,
colloquia, demonstrations, and other events aimed at developing an informed
critical understanding of what happened and why. Now that the U.S. is
waging war in Afghanistan, such acitivites are continuing.
Unfortunately, some participants in these events have been threatened and
attacked for speaking out. Trustees of the City University of New York are
planning formal denunciations of faculty members who criticized U.S. foreign
policy at a teach-in during the first week in October. There have been
similar efforts to silence criticism and dissent at the University of Texas
at Austin, MIT, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the
University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and elsewhere. AAUP director of
public policy Ruth Flower told the Boston Globe on October 6, "We're
watching these developments with a lot of concern."
Attacks on faculty who have questioned or dissented from the Bush
administration's current war policy have coincided with other ominous
developments. Colleges and universities are being pressured by agencies of
the federal government to hand over confidential information from
studentfiles. And there are moves in Congress to limit visas for students
from abroad.
We call on all members of the the academic community to speak out strongly
in defense of academic freedom and civil liberties, not just as an abstract
principle but as a practical necessity. At a moment such as this we must
make sure that all informed voices-especially those that are critical and
dissenting-are heard.
Anatole Anton
Professor of Philosophy, San Francisco State University
Dana Cloud
Associate Professor of Communication, University of Texas at Austin
Donna Flayhan
Assistant Professor of Communication & Media Studies, Goucher College
Phil Gasper
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Notre Dame de Namur University
Richard Gibson
Associate Professor of Social Studies, San Diego State University
William Keach
Professor of English, Brown University
Tom Lewis
Professor of Spanish, University of Iowa
Edward Said
University Professor, Columbia University
_________________________________________________________________
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