[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Academic freedom statement--update

[Al Kagan]

>Delivered-To: akagan at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
>X-Sender: pgasper at amber.ndnu.edu
>Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 09:34:45 -0800
>To: pgasper at ndnu.edu
>From: Phil Gasper <pgasper at ndnu.edu>
>Subject: Academic freedom statement--update
>Status:  
>
>Dear Friends and Colleagues:
>
>This message is to update you on the current status of the statement 
>in defense of academic freedom which has been circulating by email 
>over the past two months.
>
>The good news is that there has been a tremendous response, with 
>well over 3000 endorsers both from the United States and from many 
>other countries. The statement has received some media attention 
>(see, for example, 
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4322832,00.html), 
>and new endorsements continue to arrive every day.
>
>The bad news is that since the statement was first formulated, the 
>threats to academic freedom have increased. Last month, for example, 
>the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (a private organization 
>whose founders include Lynne Cheney and Senator Joseph Lieberman) 
>issued a report accusing numerous faculty members who have 
>criticized US policy of being unpatriotic (see 
>http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=12355). Given the 
>source, it is hard not to see this report as representing a 
>potential academic blacklist.
>
>Even more worrying is the University of South Florida's decision 
>earlier this month to dismiss Dr. Sami Al-Arian, a tenured professor 
>of computer science, after he was attacked in the media because of 
>his political activity (see 
>http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemId=12547). 
>Developments such as these make it all the more urgent for us to 
>speak out in defense of academic freedom.
>
>We have made some small changes to the original statement to correct 
>an inaccuracy that was pointed out to us and to update its content. 
>The latest version is appended below and can also be found at our 
>new website: http://www.academicfreedomnow.org. The website also 
>lists many of the endorsers (the rest will be added as soon as we 
>can finish the time-consuming job of compiling them all), and allows 
>supporters to both endorse and make contributions on-line.
>
>We would particularly like to thank all those who have already 
>donated money towards publishing the statement. We have raised 
>sufficient money for the statement to appear in the London Review of 
>Books (which has wide circulation in the US as well as in Britain) 
>next month.
>
>We would still like to publish the statement as a full-page ad in 
>the New York Times, but we have discovered that this will cost many 
>tens of thousands of dollars, which is considerably in excess of the 
>money we have so far received. However, if everyone who has endorsed 
>the statement but who has not yet made a contribution were to donate 
>$20, we would raise sufficient funds. Even if an ad in the New York 
>Times proves beyond our reach, publication in the New York Review of 
>Books, the Chronicle of Higher Education and similar venues, is 
>considerably less expensive. If you have not made a donation, we 
>urge you to consider sending what you can--your contribution will be 
>put to good use.
>
>Thank you for speaking out in support of academic freedom at this 
>critical time. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to 
>contact us. And please continue to circulate the statement 
>(endorsements can still be sent to academicfreedomnow at hotmail.com) 
>or direct potential endorsers to our website 
>(http://www.academicfreedomnow.org).
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Phil Gasper, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Notre Dame de Namur 
>University (pgasper at ndnu.edu)
>Bill Keach, Professor of English, Brown University (william_keach at brown.edu)
>
>
>
>STATEMENT IN DEFENSE OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM--REVISED TEXT
>
>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 activities 
>are continuing.
>
>Unfortunately, some of those who have been critical of U.S. policy 
>have been threatened and attacked for speaking out. Trustees of the 
>City University of New York voted to condemn faculty members who 
>criticized U.S. foreign policy at a forum in October. The president 
>of the University of Texas at Austin publicly denounced a prominent 
>faculty critic of U.S. policy. Efforts by pro-war students, alumni, 
>and prominent media outlets to silence criticism and dissent have 
>been reported at the University of New Mexico, Brown University, 
>MIT, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University 
>of Massachusetts at Amherst, and elsewhere.
>
>Some faculty members have been suspended or threatened with 
>suspension, others have received death threats or have been 
>physically threatened. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni, 
>founded by Lynne Cheney (wife of U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney), 
>has issued a report listing faculty members it considers 
>insufficiently patriotic.
>
>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 student files. And there are moves in Congress to 
>limit visas for students from abroad.
>
>We call on all members of 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.

-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu
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