Evergreen State College Educators on "the war against terrorism" (english) by Evergreen State College Educators 11:31pm Wed Dec 19 '01 (Modified on 8:25am Thu Dec 20 '01)

address: posted by Carrie

Attached below is a statement drafted and signed by 64 members of the faculty and staff of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, regarding the current crisis and war. PRESS RELEASE DECEMBER 19, 2001 EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE EDUCATORS RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT CRISIS Attached below is a statement drafted and signed by 64 members of the faculty and staff of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, regarding the current crisis and war. The resolution speaks for itself, but it emphasizes that the signatories believe that they have a need to speak out on this important issue specifically as educators. The resolution condemns the attacks of September 11th, supports the use of international tribunals to bring to justice those who committed the acts, and also encourages the U.S. to break the cycle of violence by ending the war and not extending it further. It also urges to the U.S. to collaborate with other governments around the world to help end conditions that may generate terrorist acts and to prevent immediate starvation in Afghanistan. It further supports less dependence on oil as an energy resource and requests federal spending that benefits the majority of the people, and not primarily the extremely wealthy and corporations. It also urges the repeal of the Patriot Act and military tribunals for noncitizens. These are an attack on civil liberties and rights and may undermine the free exchange of ideas and education. It commends the administration of the college for its support of academic freedom. Recognizing that there are a diversity of views and the intellectual strength in colleges and universities on the current crisis, the signatories state in point #6, "We urge all educational institutions to strongly support the academic freedom of their faculty, staff and students and to publicly discuss the issues surrounding the current crisis." For further information contact either Dr. Larry Mosqueda at 360-867-6513, mosqueda@evergreen.edu or Dr. Peter Bohmer at 360-867-6431, bohmerp@evergreen.edu. The statement was published in the Olympian newspaper in Olympia, WA on December 19, 2001, page A13. ******************************************************************* EDUCATORS RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT CRISIS WHEREAS as citizens, residents of the United States, individual faculty and Staff of The Evergreen State College, we are compelled by our specific responsibilities as educators, to help our students have personal engagement with the "real world" and link theory with practice; WHEREAS we feel a duty to express our alarm at a number of troubling directions that are developing in the aftermath of the tragic attack on the World Trade Centers in New York City on September 11, 2001; WHEREAS as educators responsible to our profession, our colleagues, our students, our country, and people of the planet now and in the future, we, the undersigned, offer the following resolution: 1. We condemn the mass murder of thousands of people on September 11, 2001 in New York, near Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania and express our profound grief and condolences to families and friends of the victims of the attack. 2. We support the use of the World Court or other international tribunals such as the International Criminal Court to bring to justice all of those who were complicit in the September 11th, violent attack. Any use of force should be a multilateral approach that follows international law and is only used to bring to trial those charged with these crimes. 3. We urge that the U.S. break the cycle of violence, bringing the bombing to a conclusion immediately, ending actions that cause the death of innocent people in Afghanistan, and bringing the war to a halt. Further we oppose any extension of this war by the U.S. into other countries. 4. We urge that the U.S. collaborate with governments throughout the world to address and overcome conditions such as poverty, malnutrition, disease, oppression, and subjugation that make acts of terrorism more likely. We also request that the U.S. donate, immediately, significant resources to international relief agencies, in order to prevent massive starvation in Afghanistan. 5. We commend the Evergreen State College administration for respecting and supporting the academic freedom and civil liberties of the entire Evergreen community and request that it continue to do so. 6. We urge all educational institutions to strongly support the academic freedom of their faculty, staff and students and to publicly discuss the issues surrounding the current crisis. 7. We support a national campaign to lessen our dependence on oil and to commit to a nationwide conversion to renewable energy sources within ten years. 8. We support federal spending that will directly benefit those who have lost jobs since September 11th, such as continued health insurance and unemployment insurance, and request that the federal government provide revenues to the States so that they do not cut social programs and public education. We support spending for health care, energy conversion, education, and mass transit, and we support tax cuts for low- income people. We oppose the current federal tax cuts that provide little stimulus to the economy and huge tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. 9. We urge the repeal of the USA PATRIOT ACT, the so-called anti-terrorism act which is an attack on all of our civil liberties and rights, particularly those of non-citizens, immigrants, and Muslims. The vague definition of terrorism and its major expansion of police power constitute a threat to democracy. It has the potential to undermine the free exchange of ideas, which lies at the heart of our mission as an educational institution. We also strongly oppose the establishment of military tribunals to try noncitizens the government accuses of terrorism. William Arney Joan Bantz Amy Blasen Lori Blewett Peter Bohmer Pris Bowerman Susan Bustetter Craig Carlson Mario A. Caro Arun Chandra Grace Chang Doranne Crable David Cramton Lin Crowley Steve Davis Peter Dorman Jean Eberhardt Marja Eloheimo Anne Fischel Angela Gilliam Jose Gomez Jeanne Hahn Ruth Hayes Peta Henderson Steve Herman Allegra Hinkle Penny Hinojosa Beth Horne Sharilyn Howell Peter Kardas Ernestine Kimbro Sylys Knackstedt Pat Kolstad Dan Leahy Lance Laird JuPong Lin Chandra Lindeman Laurie Meeker Larry Mosqueda Alan Nasser Alice Nelson Lin Nelson Steve Niva Alan Parker Sara Petty-Powell Peter Randlette Eve Rickert Shawn Ritterbush Liza Rognas Evelia Romano Ratna Roy Sarah Ryan Therese Saliba Douglas Schuler Zahid Shariff Simona Sharoni Patricia Silverberg Erik Thuesen Gail Tremblay Margaret Tysver Michael Vavrus Daniel Weisser Lucilene Whitesell Sarah Williams (Individual Members of the Staff and Faculty of The Evergreen State College) add your own comments