We hope to publish the statement as a full page ad in the New York Times and possibly other media outlets with the names of hundreds or thousands of endorsers. The cost will be many thousands of dollars. If you would like to make a contribution toward the cost of publishing the statement, please send a check to:
Center for Economic Research and Social Change, PO Box 258082, Chicago, IL 60625
Mark your check "Academic Freedom Ad".

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 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.

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