Defend Academic
Freedom
Academic Freedom Now at http://www.academicfreedomnow.org/
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 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.
For further details and sign for support
go to:
http://www.academicfreedomnow.org/
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