Stand with Chuck Solidarity Rally 12/9/08

Stand With Chuck - Solidarity Rally 12/9/08
December 2nd, 2008

Stand With Chuck Solidarity Rally 12-9-08 *click to download flyer*

Calling All Chuck Turner Supporters!

Stand With Chuck Community Rally!
Tues, 12/9 @ 6-8pm
Roxbury Community College
Cafeteria, RCC Student Center
(Orange Line T – Rox Crossing)

Stand With Chuck Solidarity Rally 12-9-08

Chuck Turner has been there for the people of Roxbury, as well as the city, the state and the nation for four and a half decades. He has fought for ever issue important to the community, and resisted every form of discrimination against his constituents. He has been a leader in fighting for community jobs for residents, and for CORI reform. He is the only politician who maintains an office right in the heart of the community, paid for out of his own salary. He has fought year in and year out for quality education for our youth, and has beat back the repeated efforts of those who would take away choice and educational access from the community. He has stood up to block evictions and foreclosures, and taken uncompromising stands against war, racism and abuse. We have always been able to count on him to be there for us.

Now its time for us to be there for Chuck! The attack on Chuck is an attack on the entire Roxbury community and all of the working people of Boston who have benefited from his fight for justice and opportunity. We will not be denied the people’s voice! Come out to show your support for the fighting leader of our community. Please join us on Chuck Solidarity Day on Dec 9th at RCC!

December ralleys, NYC, workers rights and protect rent stabilization!

-Sunday, December 7th - Children's Vigil
Join JFREJ, children of domestic workers, and children taken care of by domestic workers on the steps of City Hall to show how much our families care about the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights. During the holidays, and during this time of financial crisis, let's show legislators that our whole families care about the caretakers in our lives. Let's show them that we need a bill that protects the women whose work makes all other work possible.

To RSVP, click here.

Children's Vigil
Sunday, December 7th, 11:30am-1pm
Steps of City Hall, Manhattan
Take the R,W,4,5,6 to City Hall

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Tuesday December 9th - City-Wide Rally to protect rent-stabilized housing
Join JFREJ and the Housing Here and Now Coalition to speak up for low-income housing during this time of financial crisis. When the rent in a vacant apartment can be raised to $2,000 a month, landlords can raise the rent to anything they want. This is known as "vacancy decontrol." The state legislature can end this, saving 100,000 regulated apartments already on the verge. Hold politicians accountable: end vacancy decontrol.

To RSVP click here

City Wide Rally to Protect Rent-Stabilized Housing
Society for Ethical Culture, 2 w. 64th st at Central Park West
Take the 1 train to 66th or the A,B,C,D to Columbus Circle

stand with chuck! monday

City Council member Chuck Turner accused of taking a $1000 bribe.

Please attend the Boston City Council open meeting, support one of our most progressive people's representative and leader, Councilor Chuck Turner. Its our turn to stand with him to protect his human rights and defend his leadership.
STAND WITH US!

For information please see below.

LA LUCHA CONTINUA,
Dorotea Manuela
(617) 922-5744

Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2008 9:39 AM
Subject: Stand with Chuck: Monday @ 3pm

<< please forward widely >>

Press Conference and Open Council Meeting on Chuck Turner

Monday, Nov 24
3-5pm
Boston City Hall, 5th Floor

The City Council is holding an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss
Councilor Turner's situation. Friends and supporters should flood
City Hall in recognition of Chuck's dedicated service towards the
uplift of his community. If Chuck has supported you or your
organization, please help demonstrate your appreciation this Monday.

Turner will hold a press conference for his supporters, and will
denounce the maneuver led by Council President Feeney to revoke his
Chairmanships of the Education and Human Rights Committees.

Turner's next court case is scheduled on December 10th at Federal
Court in Boston.

Contact Lorraine Fowlkes 617 635 3510 (downtown) or Angela Yarde 617
427 8100 (district) for more information.

=====
Related articles:

1) Globe article on Turner Case
(http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/11/chuck_turner_i.html)
2) Excepts from Turner's Public Statements - Open Media Boston
(http://www.openmediaboston.org/node/422)

=====
1) By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff

WORCESTER -- Surrounded by supporters and a crush of media as he left
the federal courthouse in Worcester today, City Councilor Chuck Turner
proclaimed his innocence and vowed to return to work Monday.

"I am absolutely positive that a jury of my peers will come to the
conclusion that I am innocent. ... I know I am innocent," Turner said.

Turner said the City Council plans to hold a meeting Monday to
determine whether he can continue to serve. But the council has "no
voice in the matter of whether I serve," he said.

"The only people who can make the decision whether I serve is my
constituents," he said, noting that he was reelected with 82 percent
of the vote. "I believe my district is firmly committed to having me
serve as their city councilor."

"This is supposed to be a democracy," he said. "I am not going to let
this abuse of power continue."

About 30 supporters gathered around him, at one point chanting,
"Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!" Some carried various signs, including some that
read, "We Stand by Turner."

Turner said he had been told today that the FBI had asked the council
to turn off his computer and telephone.

Justin Holmes, chief of staff to Council President Maureen Feeney said
no one in Feeney's office or the central staff's office was told to
block access to Turner's phones or computer.

"The council took no action to prohibit Councilor Turner or his staff
from accessing his office today," Holmes said.

'Mr. Turner is not guilty of what he has been charged with," said
Turner's attorney, Barry Wilson. "I don't think Mr. Turner is guilty
of anything."

Asked about photos released by the government that allegedly show
Turner accepting a cash payment, Wilson said, "I've seen some grainy
photos. I don't know what they show."

"I think somebody doesn't like Chuck Turner," he said.

Turner headed to a nearby parking garage. Before he got in his
daughter's sport utility vehicle, he vowed, "I am going to be back at
work Monday."

======
2) Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner's post-arraignment statement Worcester
Transcribed from the uncut WCVB-TV Channel 5 video by Freeman Z

Source Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMR_8Dy9lTc

Chuck Turner:

"I have said many times over the last few years, that I do not agree
with the process of trying people in the media. And because of that
belief, ah, I am not going to comment in my statement on my case,
except to say that I am absolutely positive that a jury of my peers
will come to the conclusion that I am innocent. The reason why I
believe that will be their conclusion is that I know I am innocent.

"However, there is a very important issue that I am going to be
focusing on right now. (interruption: 'Move away from the door!' Press
conference moves a few feet.)

"My concern at this moment is not with the case that I'm involved in.
My concern is that it has been reported to me that while I have been
down here in Worcester, the F.B.I. asked the City Council President to
turn off my computers and to turn off my telephone.

"It also has been reported to me that the City Council plans to have a
meeting at three o'clock on Monday in the council chambers to
determine whether I can continue to serve.

"My view is that the city council has no voice in the matter of
whether I serve. The only people ...the only people who can make the
decision whether I serve my constituents ...are my constituents.

"I was elected by a vote of eighty two percent, and I think that
suggests that my district firmly is committed to having me serve them
as a City Councilor.

"As your (crowd: cheers, applause) ... as, as, (crowd: Chuck, Chuck
Chuck...) (Turner silences crowd.)

"You know, as your ...as your stories will confirm, and I hope you
include it in your stories, the F.B.I did not arrest me at my house
when they came to my house at six o'clock in the morning, they
arrested me at City Hall at six thirty.

"The reason why they didn't arrest me at six o'clock was I had left my
house at five thirty to come to work.

"My constituents understand that I am a seven day a week City
Councilor. That I begin my day at six o'clock and I end my day at ten
o'clock at night. That's why they have elected me to the last five
terms. I have a responsibility to serve my constituents and I am not
going to let the City Council stand in the way of that responsibility.

"If Councilor Feeney ... Council President Feeney, does not turn on my
phone, Monday morning, when I come to work, and turn my computer back
on, then we will go to court and challenge their right to deprive my
district, a district of majority Black and Latino constituents, of the
representative that they had chosen.

"This is supposed to be a democracy. How could the Boston City Council
even consider ... even consider, taking away from my constituents ...
and their constituents, the leadership that they want.

"I think that is horrendous for them even to think that. I think that
is horrendous for City Council President Feeney to turn off my
telephones and computers so that my staff could not do the work that
they have been hired to do.

"I am not gonna let this ...I am not gonna let this abuse of power
continue. And I will be in court, challenging the City Council if they
don't respect my constituents."

JFREJ RISK TAKER AWARDS in NYC! FUN! You should come!

Please join Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) for the 12th Annual Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer Risk-Taker Awards

Amy Goodman & Juan Gonzalez of Democracy Now! will MC the event and together we will celebrate the recent election victories and risk-takers who have been doing this work for the long haul and chart the course ahead.

This year JFREJ will be honoring:

Ann Cook: Long-time political activist & Co-Director of the Urban Academy in the Julia Richman Educational Complex.

Deborah Meier: Acclaimed educational reformer, writer, and one of the founders of the modern small schools movement.

Mikey Weinstein: a leader in the fight against the growth and spread of Christian evangelicalism in the military, Founder and President of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

Families for Freedom: A multi-ethnic grassroots organization run by and for immigrants facing and fighting deportation in the greater New York Area. They are also a leader in the New Sanctuary Movement.

When: Thursday, November 20th, 6-9pm | Reception 6pm| Program 7pm

Where: Congregation B'nai Jeshurun|257 West 88th Street (between Broadway and West End Avenue)

For additional information or to purchase tickets please contact Helena Tubis at helena@jfrej.org or 212.647.8966 x14

The $700,000 Question

Thanks to a tip from TPAN member Leah Madsen, we have learned that the TCU Senate has come into a large sum of money totaling $714,291.72. This is compensation for the funds that were embezzled last year. For more information, read this Tufts Daily article.

The Tufts progressive community should ensure that these funds are used in a responsible manner. TPAN has set up a very brief survey (two questions) to collect ideas on how these funds should be used. Please fill it out and forward the link to other progressive Tufts alumns and students.

Best,

The TPAN Team

Call for Applications, the Acumen Fund Fellows

This looks like an exciting opportunity for someone with some activism work experience:

Call for Applications, the Acumen Fund Fellows

Student Liaison Update

As far as I know the contract negotiations with the janitors went well.

YAY for a success story!

Currently, we are working on reassembling those involved in last semesters open letter so that we can continue to discuss our concerns with the administration and board of trustees. Thanks to all members of TPAN who supported us in that effort and signed the letter.

As you may have heard the director of the LGBT Center left Tufts for a job at Emory. Her replacement will start in a few weeks. I am very interested to see what his priorities will be and how he will work with the social justice community. New directors have also been hired and have started at the Women's Center and Africana Center (we like to think the open-letter contributed to these positions FINALLY being fulfilled). I am equally interested in the contributions of these two new directors.
There have been some recent concerns about trans issues on campus. An area that I pay special attention to (as I identify with that community).

Based on my experience, I have my own personal concerns regarding the lack of awareness and openness of administrative officials to trans issues, and I think this could become a flashpoint issue.

Finally, many of us have been working hard on Carl Sciortino's re-election campaign. I know I have hit the streets of Somerville to knock on doors for Carl and so have many other progressive Tufts students. With the primary this Tuesday, I hope everyone who lives in the district will make it to the polls and write in Carl!
Sorry for the lateness of this update and its brevity. If there is anything TPAN would like me to pass along to the open-letter coalition or other groups on campus (Tufts Dems, The Centers of 6 etc) let me know.

Peace,
Sofia Nelson
TPAN Student Liaison

Pregnant Man Gives Birth to Baby Girl

The pregnant man who conceived a child after a gender-reassignment operation has apparently given birth to a healthy baby girl.

“She’s really cute, really pretty,” a source told ABC News.

Thomas Beatie, 34, told People magazine that he had given birth at a hospital in Bend, Oregon on Sunday. “The only thing different about me is that I can’t breastfeed my baby. But a lot of mothers don’t,” he said, adding that he planned to publish a book about the experience this autumn.

Read More

Boston Human Rights: Ideas and Action Conference

July 31, 2008
At the Boston Public Library
700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
9:00-5:30

Program:

Welcome

The Leading Rogue State: Individual Rights?
Jean Lynch (disabled)
Rubén Rumbaut (migrants)
Tanya Golash Boza (migrants)
Dave Brunsma and Dave Overfelt (housing rights)
Brian Gran (youth)
Respondent: Ty de Pass
Presider: Alberto Moncada

The Leading Rogue State: Collective Rights?
John Barnshaw (water)
Mark Frezzo (democracy)
Rodney Coates (culture)
Judith Blau (trade)
Respondent: Grace Ross
Presider: Alberto Moncada

Human Rights Cities
Shula Koenig, PDHRE: The People’s Movement for Human Rights Learning

Roundtable Discussions: Social Identity?
Gender, Youth, Immigration, and Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transsexual identities

Roundtable Discussions: Social Policy?
Health, Environment and Food, Peace and War, Labor, and Housing

Closing Remarks


Register Online:
www.bostonhumanrights.org

Sponsors include: Mass Global Action, Mass-Care, Open Media Boston,
Boston College Department of Sociology, Boston College Center for Human
Rights and International Justice, Sociologists without Borders, Society
for the Study of Social Problems, and Massachusetts Jobs with Justice.

Contact: info@bostonhumanrights.org

The new iPhone & organic gardening?

The Who Farm (The White House Organic Farm Project) is planning on getting a petition going to plant an organic garden on the White House Mall. The launch of the campaign is to coincide with Apple's release of the new iPhone. You can read more about them at Waiting for Apples. This guy is behind the whole thing. There is a short story about them here and in other places.

Lots of Jobs at Corporate Accountability Int'l

Lots of job openings, from campaign organizers to development officers, at Corporate Accountability International, formerly known as Infact. All in Boston.

Check them out.

2 accused of stealing nearly $1m from Tufts - The Boston Globe

Here's an update on the Tufts Student Activities Office scandal. We've blogged about it before. Wow, one million dollars of our student activities fees. Gone.

Exibit: We Shall Not Be Moved

We Shall Not Be Moved, May 22, 2008 – July 18, 2008

International Graphics on Gentrification, Homelessness and Resistance



Posters from around the world, curated by the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, on exhibit at the Henry Wong and You King Yee Memorial Gallery



Exhibit and all events located at W/Y Gallery, One Nassau Street, Unit 2, in Boston Chinatown.

Hours: MTW 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Saturdays 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, and by appointment.

For information, call (617) 357-4499 or email justice@cpaboston.org.


Exhibit Opening Thursday, May 22nd 5:00pm – 8:00 pm

Roundtable Discussion: Our Right to the City

Thursday, June 5th 5:00pm – 8:00 pm

- Organizing to reclaim our right to the city - What is the role of art in grassroots organizing?

- With Alternatives for Community & Environment, City Life/Vida Urbana, Centro Presente, and Chinese Progressive Association



Workshop: Political Poster-Making with The Design Studio for Social Intervention

Saturday, July 12th 11:00 am to 2:00 pm

- Produce a poster to help your community get organized!

Advance registration required (email justice@cpaboston.org).

Janitor Negotiations.

Support Tufts Janitors in their campaign to earn a living wage and decent health care.

> Sign the Petition

> Get Updates

> Jumbo Janitor Alliance

UNC Sit-In

Notice regarding a sit-in at UNC-Chapel Hill:

Hi everyone,

It is our fifth day sitting in the administration building... in 10 minutes the building opens (woohoo!) and we can get a little fresh air.

We have set up a wordpress for updates and more information (it's a work in progress, but all the basics are on there): http://dsp4unc.wordpress.com/ Please check there for continuing updates.

Also, our lovely campus newspaper the Daily Tar Heel, printed some ridiculous articles about the sit-in... They're not bad so much as just ridiculous. I like how people who have never organized are advising us on tactics. This is the longest sit-in since the 1993 sit-in for the black cultural center, and seriously, this is what they come up with? Why not ask the thousands of people who support us and actually know what's going on? Sigh. If yall can write letters to the editor, we'd be much obliged.

Also, for local Triangle folk, letters to the editor to any of the local newspapers would be very very helpful for us.

http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2008/04/21/University/SitIn.Protest.Outlasts.Weekend-3337801.shtml

http://www.dailytarheel.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=cffff17f-9a67-4880-9490-ab718ac69211

Peace and solidarity,
the members of the occupying force

--
Salma Mirza
UNC-CH History, Class of 2008
Cell: (716) 432-1576, E-mail: salma@unc.edu[15] Organizer for Student Action with Workers
224 FPG Carolina Union, C.B. # 5210
http://www.uncsolidarity.org/
http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/

Rally for Tufts Janitors

If you are in the Tufts area this Wednesday, be sure to check out the rally for Tufts Janitors on campus. If not, read Lou's post to find out other actions you can take on this issue.

Lets' Crash the Party!

So, this post is mostly directed at those in Ohhh-three! Sorry, the rest of you. But there are ways that others can help-- read on!

I have received multiple emails and postcards from Tufts telling me of the 2003 Five-Year Reunion Party to happen on May 17. All of them went in the trash. And then I got another one.

Something similar happened to me a couple of years ago when the University College had an alumni event. I ended up going with a couple of friends and although we had invitations, it felt like we were crashing the party. It was fun (though maybe not for them!). So I thought that I would see if there is interest in crashing the reunion party. Let me tell you what I have in mind:

The Social Justice Fund has funded the Jumbo Janitor Alliance, which is an organization that supports janitors at Tufts as they seek a better contract with One Source. Many people will remember that this struggle has been going on for quite some time. The late Gerald Gill was a strong supporter of the Tufts janitors, even before they were outsourced and were forced to take a drastic pay cut for doing the same work.

The class of '03 is having a fun affair at Vox Populi in Back Bay. Lets show them what the vox populi really sounds like and organize a voice of dissent for a fair contract for the Tufts Janitors. Register for the event an then shoot me an email to let me know that you are coming! Here is a place where the Tufts Progressive Alumni Network can really get to work!

For those of you not in '03, there is a list of other events going on. You can distribute information here or just email the organizers of these events letting them know how you feel.

We can have fun at our reunion. If we do it our way.

Tufts Janitor Contract Negotiations

The saga of Tufts' contract negotiations with the janitors continues. On April 24th, SEIU, the janitors' union, will begin negotiations with their employer, OneSource/ABM.

Join this Facebook group to keep updated: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16055330131

Social Justice Fund Announces Spring Grantees

The Social Justice Fund is proud to announce the grantees from its spring application round. We are proud to support the work of these students and student groups in their quest for social justice at Tufts and beyond.

• Tessa Henry and the Emerging Black Leaders for support of the Emerging Black Leaders Symposium. Find out more at http://www.tuftsebls.org/site/ ($500)
• Erin Baldassari and the Synaptic Scholars for support of the Tufts Hip Hop for Social Change Festival ($500)
• John Chiosi and the Tufts chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility - for their display and awareness campaign around the AIDS Quilt ($660)
• Morissa Sobelson - for her summer research on the Community Health movement in Boston ($700)
• Emma Mayerson and the Jumbo Janitor's Alliance - for Dorm Clean-up events. Read about the Jumbo Janitors Alliance in the Tufts Daily.

Boston SkillShare: 50+ Workshops THIS weekend!

yeah! here it is:


the 2008 BOSTON SKILLSHARE!


now with over *50* different workshops! to see the updated workshop schedule and full descriptions, visit
http://bostonskillshare.org/workshop.php

saturday and sunday
april 5 and 6, 2008

register at MIT's stata center
32 vassar street, cambridge
10:30am-6:30pm
$3-10 sliding scale and/or volunteer
www.bostonskillshare.org

skillshare workshop list (visit http://bostonskillshare.org/workshop.php for updated schedule and descriptions):

Esperanto Conversation
Introduction To Juggling
Learn To Knit
Practical Urban Cycling
The Truth About Identy Theft
35mm Film Pinholes: Simple Cameras Made Out Of Trash
Beginning Lampwork: Making Glass Beads
Creating Emotional Safety As A Facilitator
Drag King 101: Strut For Success!
Intermediate To Advanced Juggling
Sprouts And Microgreens
Crafting Creatures: Easy Techniques For Knitted Stuffed Animals
Games And Fun And Games And Fun And Games: Fun And Games
Herbal First Aid
Kick the Kibble: Cooking for your Animal Companion
Lesbian Dating 101
People's Poetry Workshop
Rad Library Resources
Grow It Yourself: Beginner Urban Gardening
How To Become A Backgammon Master
Mental Health: Navigating Systems, Self-Care, And Safety Planning
Salsa, Merengue, Spanish & La Lucha
Supporting Survivors Of GLBT Abusive Relationships
You Are Not A Number: Applying To Grad School Even If Your GREs Are Low
Destroy The Binary: Taking Back Gender
Free (the) Net : Build Your Own Wireless Internet Router
Home Brewing
Intro To Linguistics
Mask Making And Cardboard Sculpting
Time Management
Vintage Moped Restoration And Small Engine Repair
Basic Self Defense
Electronic Design, Microcontrollers and You
Fun with Fermentation!
Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, And Blocks To Success
Run, Run, Run For Fun
Speed Erotica
Strap It Down, Pack It In: Drag King Masculine Performance Workshop
Chemical Weapons & Police Tactics
I Wanna Felt You Up
How To Use Your Story: A Community Organizing Overview
Prefigurative Parenting: Growing Empowered Kids from the Beginning
Soccer for All
Wild Carrot: Natural, Conscious Herbal Contraception
Yurts and Simple Shelters! What. Why. How.
Basic Bicycle Maintainence
Growing Yr Own Mushrooms
JP Kickball©: Strategize And Socialize
Personal Coaching 101
Protest Street Tactics
Soap Making And Embroidery Everyone Can Do It!
Know Your Rights!
Wiggle It Just a Little Bit: Indoor Worm Composting

Andrea Smith denied Tenure

Call for Action: Andrea Smith Denied Tenure at University of Michigan

See http://www.woclockdown.org/ for more details including press release, talking points, and petition.

Here is a letter from Sarita See:

Dear Colleagues,

I always have understood that the tenure process resembles an application for membership in an elite country club much more than it does a path toward intellectual autonomy. There simply have been too many examples of outstanding scholars of color and queer scholars who have joined the ranks of what might be called the Talented Untenured Tenth. But the case of my colleague Dr. Andrea Smith here at the University of Michigan effectively destroys any vestige of faith in meritocracy that one may have.

The current director of Native American Studies at the University of Michigan, Andrea Smith is the author of the monographs Conquest: Sexual Violence and Native American Genocide (South End); Native Americans and the Christian Right: The Gendered Politics of Unlikely Alliances (Duke UP); co-editor of several journal issues and anthologies including the forthcoming Native Feminisms Without Apology (U of Minnesota P); and author of fifteen peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals like Hypatia, American Quarterly, American Behavioral Scientist, Meridians, Feminist Studies, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion and Australian Feminist Law Journal. She has outstanding undergraduate course evaluations, with students regularly reporting that their experience in her classes has been profoundly transformative, and a record of fine advising with a growing cohort of Native American and Native Pacific Islander graduate students. Her organizing and activist work has garnered a well-deserved national and international reputation, and she is high demand as a speaker, panelist, and conference organizer. She is a colleague who daily reminds me of a basic premise in the humanities and social sciences: That philosophy and theory are ever transformed by practice. Indeed, Andrea found out about the University of Michigan's recent negative tenure decision while on her way back from the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, where she had testified in the United States' hearings before the Convention to Eliminate Racial Discrimination.

This is a crucial opportunity--a potentially historic moment--for scholars in Asian American studies to join with those in Native American and Native Pacific Islander studies. These attached documents compiled by student organizers invite you to write to administrators at the University of Michigan and to voice your opinion about Andrea Smith's case as it moves to the Provost for review. Yet it is to Andrea's credit that she always has objected to campaigns that focus on individual tenure cases. With that in mind, I invite you to join us in creating and shaping a political context in which university administrators and departments find it harder and harder to act with impunity in all such cases and decisions, certainly in the present and well into the future.

Best wishes,

Sarita See

Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies

Program in American Culture and English Department

The University of Michigan

3700 Haven Hall, 505 South State Street

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1045

Save the Date: Van Jones at Tufts UEP

Save the Date
Tuesday, April 22, 2008

In celebration of its thirty-five years of graduate education, UEP welcomes Van Jones to Tufts University.

3:30–4:30 p.m. UEP Community Networking Reception–Remis Sculpture Court
4:30–5:30 p.m. UEP Community Dialogue with Van Jones–Balch Arena Theater
(Open to UEP alumni, students, faculty, and staff only)
6:00–7:00 p.m. Van Jones–Public Lecture, Cohen Auditorium
(doors open at 5:45 p.m.)

Tufts University’s Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP)
will celebrate its 35th anniversary on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 (Earth Day). The special guest
speaker for this event will be civil rights leader and activist Van Jones. Join fellow UEP alumni, faculty, students, and staff at this free event.

RSVP by April 4 for UEP Community Networking
Reception: 617.627.3394 or e-mail uep@tufts.edu.

Van Jones is the founder and board president of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a California-based nonprofit organization that works to prevent youth violence and incarceration. Through its Green-Collar Jobs Campaign, Jones and the center have expanded their work to address global climate change and advance the emerging green economy by lifting people out of poverty through employment and other opportunities in green construction, clean technology, urban agriculture, and energy.

To learn more about Van Jones, go to www.vanjones.net.

Have you heard of SoJust? Socializing for Justice?

Socializing for Justice is a network for like-minded people engaged in social justice issues - focused on building a progressive cross-issue community.

We're doing it by putting the SOCIAL back in SOCIAL JUSTICE. Twice a month we organize socials that are focused on giving attendees a chance to meet each other and make connections. Events attract newcomers to the city to seasoned organizers and everyone in between.
I invite you and your colleagues to attend our next event on Wednesday, January 30th - Putting the Social Back in Social Justice IV at the Foggy Goggle on Boylston - bring flyers about your organization for the free literature table! It's a great space meet volunteers. Event details are posted below.

Check out our press release to learn about the group's origins and philosophy. Any chance there's somewhere you can hang a flyer? Here's the PDF .

Let me know if you have any questions - info@socializingforjustice.org.

Thanks, I hope to see you on the 30th!
Robbie


Putting the Social Back in Social Justice IV
Are you looking for like-minded progressives to hang out with in Boston? Want to cross-promote your events and campaigns? Are you new to the area and looking for groups to get involved in? Are you psyched about building strong cross-issue coalitions?

Join Socializing for Justice at the Foggy Goggle* for Putting the SOCIAL Back in Social Justice IV
Wednesday, January 30th at 7PM
No program. No speaker. Just arrive and enjoy yourself.

RSVP (greatly appreciated!) at www.sojust.org - newcomers always welcome!

There will be drink and appetizer specials - 1/2 price appetizers, $7 pitchers of beer, and $12 fishbowls.

At Socializing for Justice (SoJust) events you can hang out with friends, make new ones, find a date, get the scoop on a job, and find out what's going on this weekend - political or social. And the best part is that SoJust members share your vision of building a more just world.

If you're involved with a group or project and want to spread the word bring flyers for the free lit table - and there'll be lots of opportunity to schmooze and network while sharing cheap pitchers of beer

*Sorry, this event is 21+ and the bathroom is located downstairs (no elevator).

The Foggy Goggle is across from the Hynes Convention Center at 911 Boylston Street.

$2 fee per person to cover group expenses.

From our FAQs:
"It's not very easy for me to meet new people and I'm not really one for small talk at bars."
We hear you. That's why at SoJust events, in addition to traditional name tags, we have "Ask Me About" and "Looking For" tags. That way you can slap whatever you're into lately up on your shirt and wait for fellow SoJusters to approach you. These seem to do the trick of moving past the basic "where do you live? what do you do for work?" questions to conversations that lead to more substantial connections.

"What actually happens at events?"
You'll always be greeted by friendly folks who can help get you socializing, introduce you to people, and chat with you about questions or wishes. It's likely a few people will be there promoting their campaigns and issues (yes, SoJust welcomes that sort of behavior). At our bigger events, there's always a literature table to toss down flyers, postcards, and other paraphenalia about events around town. Most importantly, we can pretty much guarantee there will be someone there you've never met before. As one of our members said, "You are bringing together people who might never get together otherwise - if that ain't a step towards justice I don't know what is."

Wanna know more about SoJust? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions and Event Photos.
__________________________
__________________________

Robbie Samuels
Socializing for Justice - Co-Organizer
putting the SOCIAL back in social justice
www.SocializingforJustice.org
www.myspace.com/sojust

event posted on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=7245618166

TSAD Revisionism

Remember D-Bags? Well, a new book by Stephen Nelson features the former Tufts President, John DiBiaggio, as Nelson weaves a revisionist tale about what went down during the Tufts Students Against Discrimination days.

Aside from several inaccuracies about the details of the story, including claims that Julie was running for President of TCF and that DiBiaggio spoke with TSAD personally on the first day of the sit-in (p. 72), Nelson throws analytic rigor to the wind, glowing that:

[During the sit-in] phase of the controversy, DiBiaggio again demonstrates his trademark, "wait, wait," patience (an important leadership trait in handling confrontational situations, especially when instantaneous responses appear to be required)... DiBiaggio describes the students as contending that "'the policy doesn't speak to self-acceptance.'" Wearing his hat as an educator, DiBiaggio replied, "'Well, explain that to me. How could a policy speak to whether you accept what you are?'" (p. 73)

Nelson's only source throughout this entire narrative is a 2003 interview with the former President, despite that the Chronicle of Higher Education, The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, and The Tufts Daily all have extensive coverage of these events and the people who were involved are easily accessible. In this half-baked book published by a non-academic press, Nelson appears to be nothing more than a cheerleader for college Presidents as they face the harsh reality of their jobs. But his shoddy scholarship undoes the complexity of college campuses and undermines the agency that students have exhibited again and again as being the moral voices in their communities. If students do not take the initiative and put pressure on their college administrations to do the right thing, they never would.

Alumni who were students at Tufts in 2000 will be interested to know that Nelson does pique our suspicions that former Provost, Sol Gittleman, wanted the protesters arrested. Nelson writes:

DiBiaggio had to leave on a brief trip and while he was away, one of the senior administrators wanted to break up the sit-in. DiBiaggio continues the story: "I said, 'No. Wait, wait....You can't do that [arrest them] without me....Just let them sit in for the night and I'll talk to them when I come back.'" (p. 73) [ellipses and brackets in original]

Ignoring the fact that Nelson gets it wrong again (DiBiaggio was in California at the time of the sit-in and had to cut his trip short), it looks like TSAD has DiBiaggio to thank for keeping that senior administrator-who-shall-remain-unnamed at bay.

This kind of revisionism is expected from disreputable right-wing groups on the internet--and of this there is plenty. But the publishers of this book, the American Council on Education and Praeger, ought to have higher standards. Nelson's book is a pony show of college Presidents and is far from being an objective analysis.

International Activist Forum

Dear colleagues,

I would like to introduce my self, I am Jay geeps, representative of Perhimpunan Nasional Aktivis'98 (PENA'98)/(Indonesia's 98 National Activist Association), an independent organization consist of former Indonesian youth 98 activist from varies resistant organization and student movement such as FORKOT - Jakarta, FKSMJ, POSPERRA - FRONTIER (Bali), FKMB (Bandung) and others from 22 province in Indonesia, which organized and struggle against Soeharto, militarism and capital regime in 1998, PENA organizational body Lead by Secretary General : Adian Napitupulu, and National Presidium Coordinator : Sangap Surbakti, with 22 provincial council.

PENA political manifesto and agenda is fighting for political position against pro capital party, establish an anti Capitals and anti Globalization movement network, strengthen pro community economic, Nationalization of Indonesian assets from MNC's, support to the investigation of all human rights violation during Soeharto regime (1965 - 1998), and combating corruption and nepotism in Indonesia.

PENA shared the same vision on the Porto Alegre Manifesto, and put it as the commitment of our movement of struggle. Inspired also by Venuzuela's movement, Cuba, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina and others in developing a new emerging forces against the capitals regimes.

We would like to invite you and your organization to join our up coming event of International Activist forum which will be held on March 7 - 11 2008 at Samosir Island of Lake Toba, North Sumatera, Indonesia, forum will be focus on a major issues such Democracy, Human rights, Justice, Militarism, Racism, Gender, labor, education, farmers, poverty, environment, forestry, global warming, new economy and the strengthen of political capacity strategic concept against Neo liberal and Neo Capital.

The event will also programming Cultural performance, Music concert, Theater and traditional dance, Environment CAMPAIGN, Samosir clean up, 10,000 tree plantation, Documentary Movie, Case testimony, Exchange info and situation presentation, Thematic discussion and seminar, Photo expo, Web campaign, Press conference.

Aim of the activity expected;
1. To strengthen the anti Globalization and anti Neo Capital movement at local level in Sumatera, Indonesia's national level, regional Asia and world wide.
2.Sharing idea and concept in combating Neo Capital and Globalization 3. Divine strategic cooperation activists world wide.
4. Strengthen the Political strategic and capacity in combating Neo capital.
5. Counter the up coming WEF Asia-pacific in June at Kuala Lumpur , and response to WEF annual summit, Davos.
6. Income generating activity to indigenous and native bataks of North Sumatera through the homestay concept and cultural performance.
7. Environment campaign of Lake Toba .

Our expectation for the event is to be the stepping stones for the further process of anti globalization movement. please feel free to see the info at www.wsfprocess.net or www.iaf2008.blogspot.com. Any contribution, support comments, advise, input and critics to the process of IAF 2008 are very much welcome.

please not hesitate to contact me, at any time your convenience.

thank you and looking forward for your response.
best regards
Jay geeps
PENA 98 - International Relation Dept. Head Tebet Dalam I No.6 - Jakarta Indonesia 12810
+62 21 8357281

jay.geeps@gmail.com
jay@pena-98.com
98-national-activist-association@organisations.wsfprocess.net
skype; jay.geeps

Social Justice Fund fall grantees

The Social Justice Fund was pleased to be able to support three student groups through our fall funding cycle.

$655 Education Action! group to support a panel on No Child Left Behind Act. Read more

$472 Jennifer Bailey and the Social Justice Arts Initiative to support their Guerrilla Theater Event and Hurricane Katrina fundraiser. You can read about their events here and here.

$200 Lizzie DeWan and the Think Outside the Bottle Campaign to hold the World Water Challenge this past November 5th.


We continue to encourage social justice activism on the Tufts campus through grants throughout the year. Any questions, please contact sjf@tuftsprogressives.org

Action Alert: Ensure Fairness For Mumia Abu-Jamal on NBC’s The Today Show!

ACTION ALERT: Ensure Fairness For Mumia Abu-Jamal on NBC’s The Today Show!

http://www.iacenter.org/mumiatodaycampaign.shtml

On Dec. 6, NBC’s The Today Show intends to air a show about Michael Smerconish and Maureen Faulkner’s new book “Murdered By Mumia.” According to the announcement on Michael Smerconish’s website, the show is planning to feature both Smerconish and Faulkner as guests.

The International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (FreeMumia.com), Journalists for Mumia (Abu-Jamal-News.com), and Educators for Mumia (EmajOnline.com) have initiated a media-activist campaign urging people to write "The Today Show" at today@msnbc.com asking them to fairly present both sides of the Mumia Abu-Jamal / Daniel Faulkner case, by also featuring as guests, Linn Washington, Jr. (Philadelphia Tribune columnist and Associate Professor of Journalism at Temple University) and Dr. Suzanne Ross (Clinical Psychologist and Co-Chair of the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition, NYC). Please join the online campaign to demand that NBC's "Today Show" treat Mumia fairly!

YOUR EMERGENCY ACTION IS NEEDED NOW!

Send an email to NBC's "Today Show" requesting fair treatment for Mumia on December 6!

Go to: http://www.iacenter.org/mumiatodaycampaign.shtml

For more information on the campaign and on Mumia Abu-Jamal, and to see the full text of a sample letter and links to resources to use when contacting the Today Show, go to International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (www.FreeMumia.com) or Journalists for Mumia (Abu-Jamal-News.com), Educators for Mumia (EmajOnline.com) or Millions for Mumia (millions4mumia.org).

--

Defend Teachers Threatened With Termination for Antiwar Student Walkout

*Urgent Call for Solidarity*

Defend Teachers Threatened With Termination for Antiwar Student Walkout

BRIEF BACKGROUND:
On November 16th, over 1,000 students in Washington State walked out to protest the war in Iraq and the presence of military recruiters in public schools. Students at Foster High School in Tukwila, Washington organized and 150 walked out, saying “Money for Schools, Not War.”

Foster students rallied at the school flagpole, marched down to the I-5 overpass, and then marched to the Tukwila City Hall. The march and rally were student generated and entirely peaceful.

In reaction the Tukwila School District has done the following:

· Suspended one Social Studies teacher, Brett Rogers, who supported his students in a student generated democratic movement
· Threatened administrative action against five other teachers
· Threatened to discipline students for exercising their First AmendmentRight to free speech

When Brett Rogers was asked if he had a personal stake in the war, he said: “It’s an illegal war and my cousin is deploying December 4th, and I’m not happy about it.”

Please call and email the Principal and Superintendent now!

Tell them they need to:

1. Reinstate the teacher Brett Rogers who has been put on administrative leave!
2. Drop the disciplinary hearings against all six teachers who face investigations!
3. Support the initiative and moral fortitude of students who took a stand against the effects caused by this war to their communities!
4. Take no disciplinary action against students who participated in the walkout!

We request that you flood the school administration with phone calls and emails. Tell them to halt all disciplinary action against students and the Tukwila Six!

CONTACT:
Foster HS Principal George Ilgenfritz: (206) 901-7905
ilgenfritzg@tukwila.wednet

.edu
And Interim Superintendent Ethelda Burke: (206) 901-8000, (206) 901-8006,

burkee@tukwila.wednet.edu

Please send a copy of protest emails to us at

tukwila.teachers.solidarity@hotmail.com so we can count how many protest emails have been sent in.

If they refuse to answer your call, call Foster HS Assistant Principal Daryl Wright (206) 901-7902 and Foster HS Office Manager Darlene Aguiluz(206) 901-7915.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE BACKGROUND INFO:
On Friday, November 16th, more than a 1,000 students in Washington Stateparticipated in a nation-wide student walkout to protest the war and military recruiters in schools. This included around 150 students at Foster High School, just south of Seattle. Foster is part of the Tukwila School District, of which 71% of the student body is low-income and eligible for the free and reduced-cost school meals. Since the beginning of the Iraq War, the U.S. military has been assigning ever greater numbers of recruiters to lure young people into signing up for this bloody, costly and illegal quagmire in Iraq, especially in marginalized schools like Foster High School.
Student made signs, walked out, marched to an I-5 overpass and the TukwilaCity Hall for a civic and peaceful assembly. Now the principal and school district superintendent have begun a witch-hunt against students and at least six of their teachers and threatened to suspend students who walked out. The students took a bold stand against the war and these teachers have stood up for their students, some of the most disenfranchised in the state, both inside and outside the classroom. Students who walked out are threatened with truancy, and their teachers’ jobs are on the line. Now, who will stand up for these students and teachers?

One teacher was put on administrative leave on Monday, November 19th. On Tuesday, November 20th, at least five more were delivered memos notifying them that the Tukwila school district was “investigating reports of possible misconduct relating to you in connection with the student walk-out.” These teachers were further notified that they were not to discuss “this matter with any District students or staff” under threat of being terminated. Several of these teachers were completely unconnected with the walkout, but because they have been previously marked out as individuals that speak their minds, they are being lumped into the teacher hunt. “Investigative interviews” are to begin this Tuesday.

· With a “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001 provision forcing principals to give up the private contact information of young people to military recruiters, students and teachers have the natural right to protest.
· With a bloody and illegal war, where the soldiers that are killed and maimed are disproportionately minorities and victims of the “poverty draft,” students and teachers of Tukwila have the natural right to protest.
· With more than $500 billion dollars and the lives of more than a million Iraqis having been utterly wasted on a failed war, with schools in marginalized areas falling apart, we should all be protesting with the slogan: “Money for Schools—Not For War!"
· With 75% of the American people polling against the war according to the latest Washington Post poll, and a Democratic Congress still making excuses for why it can’t cut off funding to bring the troops home, we must support the young people who speak out against their future being bombed away.
· And we MUST support their teachers whose only misconduct was making their lesson plans truly relevant to the lives of their students.

If this Principal gets away with this attack on these workers and students, it will embolden more bosses to try to further undermine workers’ rights, wages, and benefits, and it will intimidate more people from speaking out against injustice—this is an attack on all students and workers. These teachers are union members of the Tukwila Education Association, and there are measures being taken to try to ensure their defense through this channel, BUT A STRONG COMMUNITY AND NATION-WIDE RESPONSE IS CRITICAL!!!

How can we give thanks to those on the REAL frontlines of freedom in America?

Call and email the school officials above!

And please forward this alert to supportive organizations and individuals!
------------------------------------------------
YET MORE BACKGROUND INFO:
The memo from Interim Superintendent to at least 6 teachers essentially says:

1. In the next couple days, we will summon you to a meeting because we are“investigating reports of possible misconduct relating to you in connection with the student walk-out.” There could be disciplinary consequences pending completion of this investigation.

2. You are not to discuss “this matter with any District students or staff,” or else you could be terminated.

3. You have the right to have a union representative present with you during the investigative interview in case you feel your rights might be violated.

The administration is clearly trying to isolate the teachers and students from one another to try to divide them and weaken them. They are trying to use the tactic of divide and rule. They are also blatantly violating the teachers’ right to free speech.


The teachers have been careful to abide by the Interim Superintendent’s directive not to talk with any District students or staff about these matters. But nothing in the Superintendent’s letter said teachers could not talk with their union representatives or community supporters. In fact, the letter explicitly says they could talk with the union.

Some teachers who received letters were simply on their lesson planning hour and therefore were not scheduled to teach class when the student walkout happened. These teachers went outside just to see what was going on when the students walked out, but they did not walk out or promote the walkout. So the school has no evidence against some teachers who received the threatening letters.


It appears the administration is targeting these teachers in a political with-hunt because they have spoken their minds in the past over other issues. For example, two of these teachers were banned in the past from sending out school-wide emails because they spoke their minds in school-wide emails that the administrators did not like.

Iraq Veteran
The husband of one of the teachers who received the threatening letters is an Iraqveteran. He went to Foster High School on November 16th and spoke to the students from first-hand experience about the truth of the Iraq War that the government and corporate media are actively hiding from the American people, and he walked out with the students.

As the Iraq veteran left the building, he was confronted by a security guard who identified himself as a police officer/veteran/federal marshall who said: “Don't even start with me, I'm a veteran.”

The school administration is disciplining a teacher whose husband is a veteran whose life was put at serious risk in Iraq and who has now turned against the war. This is very disrespectful to the veteran, his family, and the working-class students who are being forced to shoulder the burdens of this war. The school administrators are more concerned with trying to having power over teachers and students than letting the communities who have been hit the hardest by the war speak out against the war and the predatory military recruiters in their schools. This—after the American people voted the Democrats into Congress to end the war, but the Democrats are still making excuses about why they cannot cut off funds for the war and direct those funds toward education and other desperately needed social services. When the leaders of our country will not end this unjust war, then it becomes up to ordinary workers, parents, students, and soldiers to end the war.

The attendance secretary at the school also refused to excuse the absences of students who had permission slips signed by their parents to miss school, which is a flagrant violation of parent and student rights.

Principal George Ilgenfritz also told one student that she didn’t know anything about war. (Ironically, the student is from an immigrant Somali family who still has family in the war-torn country of Somalia.)


On the Tukwila School District’s website, the following message has been posted byInterim Superintendent Ethelda Burke: “We believe in the historic mission of public education within our democracy… Our schools are expected to encourage and prepare students to be productive citizens. We believe the challenge is to transform every child – to give every student a chance to become an autonomous, thinking person and a self-governing citizen. We are all here to work together to provide the best education for the most prized commodity of our fine city – the students of theTukwila School District.”

Yet when the students participate in an act of peaceful civil disobedience in the best traditions of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement who challenged unjust segregation laws, now the Superintendent is hypocritically trying to discourage students from being “self-governing citizens” and standing up for what is right.

We need to match the determination of these courageous teachers, students and theIraq veteran with all the support we can! Please take a few minutes now to call and email the Principal and Superintendent at the numbers and emails at the top of this email!

YouTube video of Foster High School student rally for peace:www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOuLz3kKExI
Report on Washington State Nov. 16th student walkouts against the war: http://yawr.org/nov16/seattle.html
Articles on Youth Against War and Racism student victories against military recruiters in schools:
http://yawr.org/victory/victory.htm#tacoma
http://yawr.org/victory/victory.htm#kennedy
http://www.socialistalternative.org/news/article13.php?id=611

Please forward this email widely to supportive organizations and individuals who might be able to help!
For more info, contact the Tukwila Teachers and Students Solidarity Committee: foster_nfo@hotmail.com (253) 573-9252

Defend the University

It seems as if all those with academic positions would want to 
consider signing this petition.  One can do this by e-mailing:  
defend.university@gmail.com.


---

 Ad Hoc Committee to Defend the University



Many concerned individuals, on campuses and beyond, have been 
monitoring and
condemning the recent attacks on academic freedom, including the ever 
more aggressive
incursion of partisan politics into universities' hiring and tenure 
practices.
Today a diverse group of academics and others are joining together to 
collectively mark
our resistance to the current abrogation of academic freedoms.  To 
begin we are asking
people to sign up so that their name may be added to the petition on 
our web page here,
and to the petition as it will appear in the  press.
   If you would like to join us, or for more information, please 
contact us at defend.university@gmail.com.



 Our Petition
    In recent years, universities across the country have been 
targeted by outside groups seeking to influence what is taught and 
who can teach. To achieve their political agendas, these groups have 
defamed scholars, pressured administrators, and tried to bypass or 
subvert established procedures of academic governance. As a 
consequence, faculty have been denied jobs or tenure, and scholars 
have been denied public platforms from which to share their 
viewpoints. This violates an important principle of scholarship, the 
free exchange of ideas, subjecting them to ideological and political 
tests. These attacks threaten academic freedom and the core mission 
of institutions of higher education in a democratic society.

    Unfortunately and ironically, many of the most vociferous 
campaigns targeting universities and their faculty have been launched 
by groups portraying themselves as defenders of Israel. These groups 
have targeted scholars who have expressed perspectives on Israeli 
policies and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with which they 
disagree. To silence those they consider their political enemies, 
they have used a range of tactics such as:

*unfounded insinuations and allegations, in the media and on 
websites, of anti-Semitism or
sympathy for terrorism or "un-Americanism;"
*efforts to broaden definitions of anti-Semitism to include 
scholarship and teaching that is critical of U.S. foreign policy in 
the Middle East and of Israel;
*pressures on university administrations by threatening to withhold 
donations if faculty they have targeted are hired or awarded tenure;
*campaigns to deny scholars the opportunity to present their views to 
the wider public;
*the promotion of efforts to restrict federal funding for area 
studies programs and the teaching of critical languages on political 
grounds;
*lawsuits in the name of the "right" of individual students not to 
hear ideas that may challenge or contradict their beliefs;
*and demands in the name of "balance" and "diversity" that those with 
whom they disagree be prevented from speaking unless paired with 
someone whose viewpoint they approve of.

    The suppression of free speech undermines academic freedom and 
subverts the norms of academic life.  It poses a serious threat to 
institutions of higher education in the United States.  The 
university should be a place where different interpretations can be 
explored and competing ideas exchanged. Academic freedom means not 
only the right to pursue a variety of interpretations, but the 
maintenance of standards of truth and acceptability by one's peers.  
It is university faculty, not outside political groups with partisan 
political agenda, who are best able to judge the quality of their 
peers' research and teaching. This is not just a question of academic 
autonomy, but of the future of  a democratic society. This is a time 
in which we need more thoughtful reflection about the world, not less.

    A study by a Harvard sociologist last summer found that "a 
greater percentage of social scientists today feels their academic 
freedom has been threatened than was the case during the McCarthy 
era."  It is time to defend the norms of scholarship and the best 
traditions of the academy.

We, the undersigned, therefore pledge:

    *to speak out against those who attack our colleagues and our 
universities in order to achieve their political goals;
*to urge university administrators and trustees to defend academic 
freedom and the norms of academic life, even if it means incurring 
the displeasure of non-scholarly groups, the media among them;
    *to vigorously promote our views in the media and through the 
Internet, and to explain the importance of academic freedom to a 
sustainable and vibrant democracy;
    *to mobilize our students to defend the values and integrity of 
their institutions.

The future of higher education in America, its role in our country's 
democracy, and its contribution to world affairs is at stake.  Join 
us in defending academic freedom!
Joan Scott, Edmund Burke, Jeremy Adelman, Steven Caton, Jonathan 
Cole, Organizing Committee.