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Campus Theme 2005-06
Campus Theme 2005-06
Dissent In A Free Society
Dissent has always been an essential component in any flourishing democracy. It has also always been unpopular. Over the centuries, people have lost their reputations, their livelihoods, their dignity, and even their lives because they spoke up for unpopular ideas. And while many have been properly relegated to obscurity, others are revered as visionaries.
Today dissent is facing new and more sophisticated challenges which threaten to stifle the free exchange of ideas that is the foundation of every great society. Now more than ever, it is essential that we understand the nature of dissent, how it is employed, and how society may respond to it in a constructive manner, as well as our responsibility as citizens to think critically and question accepted truths.
Now more than ever, it is essential that we understand the nature of dissent and our responsibility as citizens to think critically.
That is why Utica College has adopted Dissent In A Free Society as a campus theme for the 2005-06 academic year. Our mission as a College is to help students develop the skills to critically examine the status quo, to formulate new ideas, and to defend those ideas in the public realm. As a community-minded institution committed to the principles of academic freedom, UC also provides a public forum where ideas, both new and established, may receive the sustained and critical attention they deserve.
Key Events
Please plan on participating in these special public events relating to this year's campus theme, Dissent In A Free Society. Additional events will be announced later in the term.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Banned Book Reading
10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Alexander Cockburn
Journalist/Author
7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Barrie Gewanter
Dir., Central New York Chapter
New York Civil Liberites Union
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Bob Barr
Former Congressman
7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
> For full events listing, click here.
Featured Speaker:
Bob Barr
Tues., March 28, 2006
7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Former member of the House of Representatives from Georgia Bob Barr will be the featured Campus Theme speaker for the Spring 2006. A published author and syndicated columnist, Barr is a frequent contributor to CNN and has worked with a broad range of organizations, from the National Rifle Association to the ACLU.
Featured Speaker:
Alexander Cockburn
Photo by Tao Ruspoli
Thursday, September 29
7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Noted columnist for The Nation Alexander Cockburn will be the featured speaker on campus during Banned Books Week. One of America's best-known political journalists, he writes a nationally syndicated column for the Los Angeles Times and co-edits the newsletter CounterPunch.
Featured Speaker:
Barrie Gewanter
Tues., Oct. 25, 2006
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Barrie Gewanter, Director of the Central New York chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union (the New York affiliate of the ACLU), will give an introductory talk at the opening of the "Faces of Liberty" exhibit. Gewanter is a long-time community activist who currently heads the Central New York Civil Rights Defense Campaign for the NYCLU.
Read more.