USA

Appeal for academic freedom

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 participants in these events

have been threatened and attacked for speaking

out. Trustees of the City University of New York

are planning formal denunciations of faculty

members who criticized U.S. foreign policy at a

teach-in during the first week in October. There

have been similar efforts to silence criticism and

dissent at the University of Texas at Austin,

MIT, the University of North Carolina at Chapel

Hill, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst,

and elsewhere. AAUP director of public policy Ruth

Flower told the Boston Globe on October 6, "We're

watching these developments with a lot of

concern."

Attacks on faculty who have questioned or

dissented from the Bush administration's current

war policy have coincided with other ominous

developments. Colleges and universities are being

pressured by agencies of the federal government to

hand over confidential information from

studentfiles. And there are moves in Congress to

limit visas for students from abroad.

We call on all members of the the academic

community to speak out strongly in defense of

academic freedom and civil liberties, not just as

an abstract principle but as a practical

necessity. At a moment such as this we must make

sure that all informed voices-especially those

that are critical and dissenting-are heard.

Anatole Anton

Professor of Philosophy, San Francisco State

University

Dana Cloud

Associate Professor of Communication, University of Texas at Austin

Donna Flayhan

Assistant Professor of Communication & Media Studies, Goucher College

Phil Gasper

Associate Professor of Philosophy, Notre Dame de Namur University

Richard Gibson

Associate Professor of Social Studies, San Diego State University

William Keach

Professor of English, Brown University

Tom Lewis

Professor of Spanish, University of Iowa

Edward Said

University Professor, Columbia University