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Feminists for Free Expression
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| Censorship, Arizona Style |
[Jan. 30th, 2012|02:29 pm] |
Censorship, Arizona Style
1/17/2012 updated 1/30/2012 —
Update! See Joint Statement Below
Former Arizona State Senator, and now Superintendent of Public Instruction, John Huppenthal, has accomplished what few others can claim – censorship of books by the truckload. He is primarily responsible for a bill enacted in 2010 that prohibits public schools from teaching anything that promotes racial or ethnic “resentment,” or that is designed “primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or advocates “ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.” Having pushed the bill through the legislature, he’s now in charge of enforcing it.
As a result, the Tucson school district is being forced to dismantle its Mexican-American Studies program, throwing the district’s educational program into chaos. Books are being packed up and removed from classrooms, disrupting classes in the middle of the school year. Just a small sampling of what is going into cold storage: Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools, Matt de la Pena's Mexican White Boy, Sherman Alexie's Ten Little Indians, and Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Teachers have been instructed to steer clear of discussions of race, ethnicity or oppression, a restriction that will gut all history and literature courses.
One can debate the merits of ethnic studies programs, but not the sudden wholesale removal of books and ideas. The victims of this political and ideological fracas will be the students, whose education will suffer from the massive disruption this situation will inevitably cause. The officials in charge of the Arizona school system apparently know little about intellectual freedom or the constitutional obligations of public officials, and apparently care even less about education and the welfare of students.
HB 2281 (click for .PDF of the bill) bans schools from teaching classes that are designed for students of a particular ethnic group, promote resentment or advocate ethnic solidarity over treating pupils as individuals. The bill also bans classes that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government. School districts that don't comply with the new law could have as much as 10% of their state funds withheld each month.
Update: Debbie Reese at the American Indians in Children's Literature blog has a compendium of reference links, updates, statements and video from those affected by the ongoing censorship in Arizona.
JOINT STATEMENT IN OPPOSITION TO BOOK CENSORSHIP
IN THE TUCSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
January 30, 2012
The undersigned organizations are committed to protecting free speech and intellectual freedom. We write to express our deep concern about the removal of books used in the Mexican-American Studies Program in the Tucson Unified School District. This occurred in response to a determination by Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal that the program “contained content promoting resentment toward a race or class of people” and that “materials repeatedly reference white people as being ‘oppressors….’ in violation of state law.” The books have been boxed up and put in storage; their fate and that of the program remain in limbo.
The First Amendment is grounded on the fundamental rule that government officials, including public school administrators, may not suppress “an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” School officials have a great deal of authority and discretion to determine the curriculum, the subject of courses, and even methods of instruction. They are restrained only by the constitutional obligation to base their decisions on sound educational grounds, and not on ideology or political or other personal beliefs. Thus, school officials are free to debate the merits of any educational program, but that debate does not justify the wholesale removal of books, especially when the avowed purpose is to suppress unwelcome information and viewpoints.
School officials have insisted that the books haven’t been banned because they are still available in school libraries. It is irrelevant that the books are available in the library – or at the local bookstore. School officials have removed materials from the curriculum, effectively banning them from certain classes, solely because of their content and the messages they contain. The effort to “prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, [or] religion” is the essence of censorship, whether the impact results in removal of all the books in a classroom, seven books, or only one.
Students deserve an education that provides exposure to a wide range of topics and perspectives, including those that are controversial. Their education has already suffered from this political and ideological donnybrook, which has caused massive disruption in their classes and will wreak more havoc as teachers struggle to fill the educational vacuum that has been created.
Book-banning and thought control are antithetical to American law, tradition and values. In Justice Louis Brandeis's famous words, the First Amendment is founded on the belief:
that freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth; that, without free speech and assembly, discussion would be futile; … that it is hazardous to discourage thought, hope and imagination …. Believing in the power of reason as applied through public discussion, [the Framers] eschewed silence coerced by law …. Recognizing the occasional tyrannies of governing majorities, they amended the Constitution so that free speech and assembly should be guaranteed.
The First Amendment right to read, speak and think freely applies to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, or national origin. We strongly urge Arizona school officials to take this commitment seriously and to return all books to classrooms and remove all restrictions on ideas that can be addressed in class.
American Association of University Professors
Cary Nelson, President
1133 19th St., NW, Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20036
202-737-5900
cnelson@illinois.edu
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
Chris Finan, President
19 Fulton Street, Suite 407
New York, NY 10038
212-587-4025
chris@abffe.org
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona
Alessandra Soler Meetze, Executive Director
P.O. Box 17148
Phoenix, AZ 85011-0148
602-773-6006
ameetze@acluaz.org
Antigone Books
Trudy Mills and Kate Randall, Owners
411 N. 4th Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85705
520-792-3715
info@antigonebooks.com
Association of American Publishers
Judith Platt
Director, Free Expression Advocacy
455 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
202-220-4551
jplatt@publishers.org
Association of American University Presses
Peter Givler, Executive Director
28 West 36th Street, Suite 602
New York, NY 10018
212-989-1010
pgivler@aaupnet.org
Atalanta’s Music & Books
Joan Werner, Owner
38 Main Street
Bisbee, AZ 85603
520-432-9976
Authors Guild
Paul Aiken, Executive Director
31 East 32nd Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10016
212-563-5904
PAiken@authorsguild.org
Center for Expansion of Language and Thinking
Dr. Kathryn F. Whitmore, President
N275 Lindquist Center
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242
319-335-5434
Kathryn-whitemore@uiowa.edu
Changing Hands Bookstore
Gayle Shanks, Bob Sommer and Cindy Dach, Owners
6428 S McClintock Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283
480-730-0205
inbox@changinghands.com
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Charles Brownstein, Executive Director
255 West 36th Street, Suite 501
New York, NY 10018
212-679-7151
charles.brownstein@cbldf.org
Freedom to Read Foundation, an affiliate of the American Library Association
Barbara M. Jones, Executive Director
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-280-4226
bjones@ala.org
International Reading Association
Richard M. Long, Ed.D.,
Director, Government Relations
444 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 524
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 624-8801
rlong@reading.org
Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association
Laura Ayrey, Executive Director
8020 Springshire Drive
Park City, UT 84098
435-649-6079
laura@mountainsplains.org
National Coalition Against Censorship
Joan Bertin, Executive Director
19 Fulton Street, Suite 407
New York, NY 10038
212-807-6242
bertin@ncac.org
National Council for the Social Studies
Susan Griffin, Executive Director
8555 16th St, Ste 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301.588.1800 x 103
sgriffin@ncss.org
National Council of Teachers of English
Millie Davis
Senior Developer, Affiliated Groups and Public Outreach
1111 West Kenyan Road
Urbana, IL 61801
800-369-6283 ext. 3634
mdavis@ncte.org
National Youth Rights Association
Alex Koroknay-Palicz, Executive Director
1101 15th Street, NW Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
202-835-1739
akpalicz@youthrights.org
PEN American Center
Larry Siems, Director, Freedom to Write & International Programs
588 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
212-334-1660 ext. 105
lsiems@pen.org
PEN Center USA
Adam Somers, Executive Director
P.O. Box 6037
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
323-424-4939
adam@penusa.org
People For the American Way
Debbie Liu, General Counsel
1101 15th Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-467-4999
dliu@pfaw.org
Reach Out and Read
Anne-Marie Fitzgerald
Senior Director of National and State Programs
56 Roland Street, Suite 100D
Boston, MA 02129
618-455-0600
Reading is Fundamental, Inc.
Carol Hampton Rasco, President/CEO
1255 23rd Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20037
202-536-3500
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
Lin Oliver, Executive Director
8271 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323-782-1010
linoliver@scbwi.org
Spark Teacher Education Institute
Educational Praxis, Inc.
P.O. Box 409
Putney, Vermont 05346
802-258-9212
Student Press Law Center
Frank LoMonte, Executive Director
1101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100
Arlington, VA 22209-2275 USA
703-807-1904
flomonte@splc.org
TESOL International Association
John Segota, CAE
Associate Executive Director for Public Policy & Professional Relations
1925 Ballenger Ave., Suite 550
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-518-2513
jsegota@tesol.org |
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| Top Internet Sites Join Largest Online Protest Ever in Opposition to Pending Internet Censorship Leg |
[Jan. 23rd, 2012|03:04 pm] |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Tiffiniy Cheng, Holmes Wilson
press@fightforthefuture.org
Phone: (508) 474-5248
Top Internet Sites Join Largest Online Protest Ever in Opposition to Pending Internet Censorship Legislation
The internet is currently engaged in the largest ever online protest in opposition to internet censorship legislation moving in Congress, PIPA and SOPA.
Three top-ten sites in the U.S. -- Google.com, Craigslist.org, and en.wikipedia.org -- have blacked out all or part of their sites in protest of the bill.
As of 10 a.m. ET, eleven top 100 U.S. sites are participating in the strike (site rankings are from Alexa.com). Wordpress alone powers 16 percent of the top 1 million sites globally, and all of those sites are being blacked out.
More than 62,000 sites have signed up to join at sopastrike.com. The exact number of sites that are participating is unknown at this point, but we believe 10,000 to be a conservative estimate.
The protest is in response to legislation (S.968) scheduled for a vote in the Senate on Jan. 24th that would give the government and corporations new powers to block access to entire websites because of a single link in violation of copyright law. The website takedowns would effectively censor hosts of legal, constitutionally-protected speech, and the bill is considered to be in violation of the First Amendment by several prominent constitutional scholars.
Ultimately, the fight against these bills is about more than web censorship. It is a fundamental struggle about who has power in modern society -- the people with the means to communicate freely or the governments and corporations that want to lock down control. Today's action, and the corresponding drop-off in congressional support for these bills, is a raw display of power for the people at large.
About Fight for the Future
Fight for the Future is a new non-profit organization that works to defend online rights and personal freedoms. Fight for the Future organized American Censorship Day on November 16, 2011, the largest online protest in the past 5 years, with more than 4 million people contacting Congress and companies like Tumblr and Mozilla taking unprecedented steps to drive users to contact Congress.
http://t.ymlp322.net/jacaejuwaiaummanamusw/click.php>fightforthefuture.org
http://t.ymlp322.net/bakaejuwagaummaxamusw/click.php>americancensorship.org
http://t.ymlp322.net/haaaejuwavaummavamusw/click.php>sopastrike.com
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| Climate change skepticism seeps into science classrooms |
[Jan. 23rd, 2012|03:00 pm] |
Climate change skepticism seeps into science classrooms
By Neela Banerjee | McClatchy-Tribune News Service
WASHINGTON — A flash point has emerged in American science education that echoes the battle over evolution, as scientists and educators report mounting resistance to the study of man-made climate change in middle and high schools.
Although scientific evidence increasingly shows that fossil fuel consumption has caused the climate to change rapidly, the issue has grown so politicized that skepticism of the broad scientific consensus has seeped into classrooms.
Texas and Louisiana have introduced education standards that require educators to teach climate change denial as a valid scientific position. South Dakota and Utah passed resolutions denying climate change. Tennessee and Oklahoma also have introduced legislation to give climate change skeptics a place in the classroom.
Last May, the school board of Los Alamitos, Calif., passed a measure, later rescinded, identifying climate science as a controversial topic that required special instructional oversight.
"Any time we have a meeting of 100 teachers, if you ask whether they're running into pushback on teaching climate change, 50 will raise their hands," said Frank Niepold, climate education coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who meets with hundreds of teachers annually. "We ask questions about how sizable it is, and they tell us it is (sizable) and pretty persistent, from many places: your administration, parents, students, even your own family."
Against this backdrop, the National Center for Science Education, an Oakland, Calif.-based watchdog group that supports the teaching of evolution through advocacy and educational materials, announced on Monday that it will launch an initiative to monitor the teaching of climate science and evaluate the sources of resistance to it.
NCSE, a small, nonpartisan group of scientists, teachers, clergy and concerned individuals, rose to prominence in the last decade defending evolution in the curriculum.
The controversy around "climate change education is where evolution was 20 years ago," said Eugenie Scott, executive director of the NCSE.
At that time, evolution - the long-tested scientific theory that varieties of life forms emerged through biological processes like natural selection and mutation - was patchily taught. Teaching standards have been developed since then, but it's unclear how widely evolution is taught, given teachers' fear of controversy.
Studies show that teachers often set aside evolution for fear of a backlash. Scott worries this could happen with climate science, too.
"The question is self-censorship and intimidation. What you have to watch for is the 'hecklers' veto,' " she said. "If a teacher ignores a particular topic, it will likely go unnoticed."
Climate change skeptics like James Taylor, environmental policy fellow at the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank, said the pushback in schools and legislatures reflects public frustration at being told "only one side of the global warming debate - the scientifically controversial theory that humans are creating a global warming crisis."
"It is therefore not surprising that state legislatures are stepping in to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not spent in a manner that turns an important and ongoing scientific debate into a propaganda assault on impressionable students," Taylor said.
Climatologists say man-made climate change is not scientifically controversial.
Instruction on climate change is typically introduced in middle school earth science classes and in recently popular high school environmental science courses, often electives.
In 2007, science teachers said their greatest challenge was making climate change fit in with their curriculum, according to a survey by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, a joint project of NOAA and the University of Colorado at Boulder. By 2011, the biggest concern wasn't the curriculum but the controversy, said Susan Buhr, director of the education outreach arm for the institute.
Resistance to the scientific consensus breaks down mostly along regional lines, Buhr said, with greater pushback in the South and in regions where "livelihoods have been built on extractive industries" of fossil fuels.
Attacks on evolution come largely from conservative Christians who believe in a literal reading of the biblical creation story. Climate change denial is mostly rooted in political ideology, with foes decrying it as liberal dogma, teachers say. The NCSE's Scott said that makes it much harder to use the courts to protect climate science education.
New national science standards for grades K-12 are due in December. The standards - based on a framework by the National Academy of Sciences and developed by a partnership of private industry and state governments - are expected to include climate change. But some science educators predict that could heat up local and state resistance in some areas.
"You could see more states or localities challenging the topic," said Niepold, who is familiar with the NCSE initiative. "Given the polarized nature of how people take this issue, having a community organization that looks at the issue could be valuable."
Neela Banerjee writes for the Tribune Washington Bureau.
©2012 Tribune Co |
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| Op-Ed: Blacklist Bill allows Feds to remove websites from Internet (Digital Journal) |
[Nov. 21st, 2011|01:14 pm] |
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_us_a/?cl=1399506603&v=11183
Right now, Congress is debating a law that would give them the power to censor the world's Internet -- creating a blacklist that could target YouTube, WikiLeaks and even groups like Avaaz!
Under the new law, our government could force Internet providers to block any website on suspicion of violating copyright or trademark legislation, or even failing to sufficiently police their users' activities. And, because so much of the Internet's hosts and hardware are located here in the US, their blacklist would clamp down on the free web for all of us in America and millions across the world.
We only have days before the vote but we can help stop this -- champions in Congress want to preserve free speech and tell us that a global outcry would strengthen their hand. Let's urgently raise our voices from every corner of America and join Avaaz members across the world to build a massive call urging our decision makersto reject the bill and stop Internet censorship. Click below to sign and then forward as widely as possible -- our message will be delivered directly to key members of the US Congress ahead of the crucial vote:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_us_a/?vl
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_us_a/?cl=1399506603&v=11183>
For years, our government has condemned countries like China and Iran for their clampdown on Internet use. But now, the impact of these new censorship laws could be far worse -- effectively blocking sites not only in the US but also to every Internet user across the globe.
Last year, a similar Internet censorship bill was killed before reaching the Senate floor, but it's now back in a different form. Copyright laws already exist and are enforced by courts. But this new law goes much further -- granting the government and big corporations enormous powers to force service providers and search engines to block websites based just on allegations of violations -- without a trial or being found guilty of any crime!
Free speech advocates have already raised the alarm, and some key Senators are trying to gather enough support to stop this dangerous bill. We have no time to lose. Let's stand with them to ensure our lawmakers preserve the right to a free and open Internet as an essential way for people in the US and around the world to exchange ideas, share communication and work collectively to build the world we want. Sign below to stop censorship, and save the Internet as we know it:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_us_a/?vl http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_us_a/?cl=1399506603&v=11183>
In the past months, from the Arab Spring to the global Occupy Movement, we've seen first hand how the Internet can galvanize, unify and change society. Now, if we stand together, we can stop this new attack on Internet freedom. We've done it before -- in Brazil and Italy, Avaaz members have won major victories in the fight for a free Internet. Let's mobilize here in the US to defeat the most powerful censorship threat that the Internet has ever seen.
With hope,
Luis, Dalia, Diego, Emma, Ricken, Aaron, Antonia, Benjamin and the rest of the Avaaz team
More information:
Op-Ed: Blacklist Bill allows Feds to remove websites from Internet (Digital Journal)
http://digitaljournal.com/article/313463>http://digitaljournal.com/article/313463 |
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| Rep. Goodlatte Introduces Bill To Break The Back Of The Internet |
[Oct. 27th, 2011|02:08 pm] |
###FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE###
CONTACT: David Moon, 202 427-7966, moon@demandprogress.org
Rep. Goodlatte Introduces Bill To Break The Back Of The Internet
Demand Progress's predictions borne out, as 50,000 members ask lawmakers to refuse to cosponsor
Washington, DC: Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has introduced as sweeping bill which would break the back of the Internet, as 50,000 Demand Progress members have asked their lawmakers to refuse to cosponor the legislation.
Others may email their lawmakers here:
http://t.ymlp279.net/beaoaubusaiaeueavaeyyjj/click.php
http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/sopa/
Purported to be the House version of the PROTECT IP Act (S.968), Goodlatte's bill is much wider-ranging. PROTECT IP would give the government new powers to block users' access to websites accused of copyright infringement.
Goodlatte's bill folds in the bulk of Sen Amy Klobuchar's S.978, which would make certain streaming of unlicensed content a felony punished by 5 years in prison. While Klobuchar's bill criminalized 10 instances of streaming, Goodlatte would put you in prison for doing it once. The legislation threatens to target people for posting music in the background of videos, dancing to pop songs, or playing in cover bands. As S.978 cosponsor Chris Coons (D-DE) has put it, the legislation would criminalize "individuals and sites providing the streamed content."
Goodlatte's bill also targets sites that are said to "induce" infringement -- creating new exposure for site proprietors based on what their users post, potentially undermining the long-standing Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and others could be targeted.
"This is an omnibus grab-bag of corporate goodies that will hurt consumers, stifle innovation, foment censorship, and change the Internet as we know it for the worse," said Demand Progress executive director David Segal. "It's so over-the-top that we're not sure if we should be laughing or crying." |
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| Privacy and Press Freedom Collide in University Case |
[Oct. 23rd, 2011|05:17 pm] |
October 20, 2011
Privacy and Press Freedom Collide in University Case
It was bad enough for the http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/university_of_illinois/index.html?inline=nyt-org University of Illinois when The Chicago Tribune’s 2009 series http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/college/chi-070529u-of-i-clout,0,5173000.story Clout Goes to College” exposed the existence of a “clout list” that over five years gave hundreds of well-connected students an edge in admissions, and led to the resignations of the university president, the chancellor of the flagship Urbana-Champaign campus and most of the trustees.
But two years later, the university is still mired in litigation before the federal appeals court in Chicago, fighting the release of more documents the newspaper has asked for, including the names and addresses of the parents on the clout list. The university has turned over about 5,200 pages of documents to the newspaper. But in a separate state court proceeding, The Tribune is seeking the grade point averages and ACT scores of the students accepted from the clout list.
Those requests set off a shootout between the state’s freedom of information law and the federal privacy law for educational records.
The university, backed by the big guns of academia, http://www.uillinois.edu/our/news/2011/July13.Brief.pdf argues that the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or Ferpa, forbids disclosure of such information — and threatens the loss of federal financing if it hands over private records. Personal information about students is precisely what the federal privacy act was designed to protect, it said, raising the specter of a world in which students might be shamed by the public release of their academic credentials.
“If you give me the parents’ name and address, and identify the student’s sponsor, I can identify the student,” said Sam Skinner, a lawyer for the university. “Basically, what this comes down to is whether a student’s name, or sources that would reveal his name, are protected by Ferpa, and we believe Congress meant to protect students’ personalized information.”
Mr. Skinner said the university’s position is that anything anyone sends in about any applicant is a student record protected by the law.
But http://epic.org/amicus/tribune/Brief%20of%20Plaintiff%20Chicago%20Tribune%20Company.pdf The Tribune, backed by media groups including The New York Times, argues that the documents are not education records under the federal law, but rather records of questionable conduct, so the public’s right to know should prevail.
“When Governor Blagojevich calls the chancellor and says, ‘Admit this favored person,’ that’s not an admission record kept in someone’s file,” said James Klenk, a lawyer for The Tribune. “That’s something that should be disclosed to the public. We’re investigating public officials in their decision making. Some people were admitted not on their merits, while other people, on the merits, didn’t get those spots, and that’s wrong.”
A http://www.rcfp.org/news/documents/20110819-amicusbriefinchicagotribunecompanyvunivofillbdoftr.pdf friend-of-the-court brief for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Student Press Law Center, joined by leading media organizations including The New York Times, said that all too often, the privacy act was abused.
“This case presents the increasingly familiar tale of a public university that, embarrassed by its own wrongdoing, cries ‘student privacy’ in an attempt to frustrate public disclosure of information reflecting unflatteringly on the conduct of the university’s administrators,” the brief said.
That same argument, it said, has been used before: by administrators at Florida State University seeking to conceal correspondence with the N.C.A.A. about preferential academic assistance for athletes; officials at Laramie County Community College in Wyoming trying to conceal a report about the college president’s behavior on an overseas trip; and those at the University of North Carolina trying to conceal records regarding an athlete parking ticket scandal.
Parents and university officials who used the clout list to bypass the merit-based application process, the brief said, “cannot now claim any reasonable right to privacy to cover their actions, as it is far outweighed by the newsworthiness of the scandal and the right of the public to hold accountable those responsible for perpetrating a fraud.”
Judge Joan B. Gottschall of Federal District Court, who heard The Tribune’s motion for a summary judgment in March, http://epic.org/amicus/tribune/20110311_170232_ferpa_case.pdf sided with the newspaper. She ruled that although Ferpa does provide penalties for releasing protected student information, it does not actually prohibit such releases because universities could choose to release the information and face the possible loss of federal money — hundreds of millions of dollars, in the case of the University of Illinois. That suggestion galvanized academia.
“The decision that came out of the district court has made institutions nervous, because the decision essentially put to the university the Hobson’s choice of declining or returning federal money, or violating a court order telling it to comply with the freedom of information law,” said Ada Meloy, general counsel of the American Council on Education, one of the groups that signed on to a http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfmSection=Legal_Issues_and_Policy_Briefs2&CONTENTID=41875&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm friend-of-the-court brief backing the university. The Justice Department also filed a brief in support of the university.
But the threat of losing federal financing is an empty one in this case. At the oral argument before a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the judges referred to a letter from the Department of Education saying it had no plans to ask the university to forfeit its federal financing.
At oral arguments last month, the panel seemed inclined to accept the argument that there was a strong public interest in the records being sought.
“They want to know, who are these families, what are their connections?” Judge Richard A. Posner said. “That’s legitimate, that’s important.”
But the judges sounded skeptical that they should be the ones deciding the case, given that the open-records law being invoked was an Illinois statute. “I don’t understand what this case is doing in federal court,” said Judge Frank H. Easterbrook, who asked for supplemental briefs on the jurisdiction question.
But one way or another — in one court or another — the question will have to be resolved.
“This is an honest disagreement between The Tribune and the university about what’s protected,” Mr. Skinner said.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/tamar_lewin/index.html?inline=nyt-per TAMAR LEWIN |
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| Porning the Planet :De-Sensitiz Nation of a Generation A New Solo Play |
[Oct. 15th, 2011|02:09 pm] |
WWW.RAQUELALMAZAN.COM
Porning the Planet :De-Sensitiz Nation of a Generation
A New Solo Play
Butoh dance meets narrative text – A multi-media piece
A STAR IS BORN: PORN STAR THAT IS
An excerpt selection of a work in progress by writer/performer Raquel Almazan and Directed by Penny Arcade. Based on the life of adult star Brittany Andrews. In this dark comedy Porn Star Sensora joins Butoh dance with narrative performance and audience as pornographer.
As NASA chooses her for the making of the film Porning the Planet, Sensora attempts to answer multiple personality disorder through the building of a porn persona. On her way to meet Hugh Hiefner, our savior, Sensora’s journey follows her from glam porn star to snuff assassinated President; to finally as a refugee in outer space, launching into the galaxy. Sensora’s metamorphosis challenges our notion of how pornography has altered our method of communicating and connecting with each other and ourselves. All multi-media in the show reflect images we download from her mind. Her provocative memories, her violent fantasies and her daily rituals are witnessed and downloaded for mass absorption into the collective consciousness.
Vangeline - Choreographer
Sandra Powers - Multi-media
Sindy Butz - Costume/ Installation
Brittany Andrews - Muse /Consultant
Adam Mansell - Sound Design
DATE: OCT. 30TH WHERE: THEATRE 80 80 ST. MARKS PLACE NY, NY 10003
WHEN: 10:30 PM / DURATION: 45 MINUTE EXCERPT ADMISSION: $10
RAQUEL ALMAZAN ARTISTIC DIRECTOR LA LUCHA ARTS GROUP
FILM - THEATRE- TELEVISION
PERFORMER- WRITER - DIRECTOR E-mail: laluchaartsco@hotmail.com
http://eb07.ebhost9.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1318608897608&StID=37079&SID=1&NID=897024&EmID=6450163&Link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5yYXF1ZWxhbG1hemFuLmNvbQ%3D%3D&token=c78d04ee1e81a80b192dab109c12e1c5d4d86230>http://www.raquelalmazan.com |
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| Whoopi, Penguins Join Banned Books Read-Out |
[Sep. 27th, 2011|03:26 pm] |
September 26, 2011
Whoopi, Penguins Join Banned Books Read-Out
CHICAGO – Actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg and the authors of the most challenged book in the United States–the story of male penguins raising a baby penguin–have joined the virtual read-out of banned and challenged books that is taking place on YouTube as part of the http://www.youtube.com/bannedbooksweek 30th annual Banned Books Week.
People from all over the country are raising awareness of book censorship by posting videos of themselves reading from their favorite banned books.
Whoopi reads a poem from the Shel Silverstein collection, "A Light in the Attic." Although beloved by parents and children everywhere, the book has been challenged many times: for its "dreary" message, "containing anti-parent material" and even for "encouraging children to break the dishes so they don’t have to dry them."
Authors Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell read from "And Tango Makes Three," their award-winning children’s picture book, based on an actual incident, that tells the story of two male penguins who hatch an abandoned egg and parent the chick. Attacked for what critics purport to be a "homosexual story line," "And Tango Makes Three" was the most challenged book in the United States in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010.
The Whoopi and "Tango" videos are posted at http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/videos as well as on YouTube. Many authors whose books have been challenged are participating in the read-out, including Judy Blume, Lauren Myracle, Jay Asher, Chris Crutcher, Sarah Dessen, Ellen Hopkins, David Levithan and Amy Sonnie. Other award-winning and highly acclaimed authors such as Paolo Bacigalupi, William Joyce, A.S. King, Kirby Larson, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Karin Slaughter, Laini Taylor, Paul Volponi, and Sara Zarr, also have videos.
Anyone can join the virtual read-out by following the http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/virtualreadout directions on the Banned Books Week website.
Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It is sponsored by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the National Association of College Stores, the National Council of Teachers of English and PEN American Center. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Projected Censored.
Contact:
Chris Finan
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
(212) 587-4025, ext. 4
Barbara Jones
American Library Association
(312) 280-4222
Judith Platt
Association of American Publishers
(202) 220-4551
To comment, share, or see related resources and images, go http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/node/8195 here. |
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| Whoopi, Penguins oin Banned Books Read-Out |
[Sep. 27th, 2011|03:16 pm] |
NEWS
For Immediate Release
September 26, 2011
Contact: Barbara Jones
Whoopi, penguins join Banned Books Read-Out
CHICAGO – Actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg and the authors of the most challenged book in the United States–the story of male penguins raising a baby penguin–have joined the virtual read-out of banned and challenged books that is taking place on YouTube as part of the 30th annual Banned Books Week. People from all over the country are raising awareness of book censorship by posting videos of themselves reading from their favorite banned books.
Whoopi reads a poem from the Shel Silverstein collection, "A Light in the Attic." Although beloved by parents and children everywhere, the book has been challenged many times: for its "dreary" message, "containing anti-parent material" and even for "encouraging children to break the dishes so they don’t have to dry them."
Authors Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell read from "And Tango Makes Three," their award-winning children’s picture book, based on an actual incident, that tells the story of two male penguins who hatch an abandoned egg and parent the chick. Attacked for what critics purport to be a "homosexual story line," "And Tango Makes Three" was the most challenged book in the United States in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010.
The Whoopi and "Tango" videos are posted at www.bannedbooksweek.org/videos as well as on YouTube. Many authors whose books have been challenged are participating in the read-out, including Judy Blume, Lauren Myracle, Jay Asher, Chris Crutcher, Sarah Dessen, Ellen Hopkins, David Levithan and Amy Sonnie. Other award-winning and highly acclaimed authors such as Paolo Bacigalupi, William Joyce, A.S. King, Kirby Larson, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Karin Slaughter, Laini Taylor, Paul Volponi, and Sara Zarr, also have videos.
Anyone can join the virtual read-out by following the directions on the Banned Books Week website.
Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It is sponsored by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the National Association of College Stores, the National Council of Teachers of English and PEN American Center. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Projected Censored.
Contact:
Chris Finan
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
(212) 587-4025, ext. 4
Barbara Jones
American Library Association
(312) 280-4222
Judith Platt
Association of American Publishers
(202) 220-4551
To comment, share, or see related resources and images, go here. |
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| Curtains for ‘Rocky Horror’ in Carrollton, Ga. |
[Sep. 22nd, 2011|12:46 pm] |
Curtains for ‘Rocky Horror’ in Carrollton, Ga.
KEN PAULSON
PRESIDENT, FIRST AMENDMENT CENTER
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
“Rocky Horror” has a home in the Library of Congress, but isn’t faring so well in Carrollton, Ga.
After viewing a brief video clip of a rehearsal of the “Rocky Horror Show” stage play, Wayne Garner, the mayor of Carrollton, banned the show from a city-owned arts center.
“I know this community well,” Garner said. “If that play was allowed to proceed … we’d be run out of town,” he added, according to 11Alive.com.
Does a mayor have the right to prevent the performance of a play on public property because he’s concerned that residents might find it offensive?
Absolutely not.
Under the First Amendment, a government is not allowed to use its power to limit free expression. Carrollton’s city government booked and announced the show, and cannot now withdraw that approval because it found the content to be risqué or unconventional.
The only exception would be if a show is obscene, as defined in the U.S. Supreme Court case Miller v. California. The 1973 case set up basic guidelines for determining obscenity, including: “Whether the work, taken as whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
Granted, a horror musical about a cross-dressing scientist and his Transylvanian associates is not to everyone’s taste, but there’s nothing sexually explicit about the show and its artistic appeal and mainstream acceptance are well-documented.
Consider its history:
The stage show began as a British musical in 1973 and was staged on Broadway in 1975, and more successfully in 2000, with a cast that included Dick Cavett. Over time, the show garnered five Tony nominations.
The film based on the stage musical has gone from being a 1975 cult film shown at midnight in movie theaters across the country to being one of the longest-running films in history. It runs constantly somewhere.
Last year, “Glee,” one of America’s top-rated television shows, devoted an entire episode to “Rocky Horror.”
In 2005, the Library of Congress honored “Rocky Horror Picture Show” by selecting it as one of 25 films to be added to the National Film Registry. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said, “By preserving American films, we safeguard a significant element of American creativity and our cultural history for the enjoyment and education of future generations. The films we choose are not necessarily the ‘best’ American films ever made or the most famous, but they are films that continue to have cultural, historical or aesthetic significance.”
The show’s best-known song is “Time Warp,” which is a bit ironic because the question of censoring plays for sexual content was largely resolved in courtrooms decades ago.
“Hair,” which debuted on Broadway April 29, 1968, at the height of the war in Vietnam, included nudity, a rarity for stage performances, particularly at that time. It faced numerous legal challenges as its touring company traveled across America.
In one battle in Boston, the cast was threatened with prosecution for “lewd and lascivious” performances. In 1971, the conflict ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court, which reaffirmed that the First Amendment protects theatrical plays and cleared the way for “Hair” to open.
The Carrollton County Community Theatre group that wanted to present “Rocky Horror” has announced a fund drive in hopes of staging the musical at another venue. The group apparently is not going to pursue legal options.
“The show must go on” is more than a showbiz cliché. In this case, it’s also a constitutional right.
Brian J. Buchanan
Managing Editor
First Amendment Center Online
1207 18th Ave. S.
Nashville, TN 37212
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/info@fac.org |
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