Whose Reading Your Email?

Imagine you wrote something expressing your opinion on a political issue, it was published in the newspaper, and following  that publication, you were forced to send all your email on that issue and anything related to it to a group of political activists that were opposed to your opinions.  Would you feel intimidated?  Would you be reluctant to do so?  Well, under the Freedom of Information Act and if you were an employee at a public university, you might have to, as the case of a University of Wisconsin professor demonstrates.  The Daily Cardinal at the university reports, in part:

With Wisconsin legislators between sessions and the budget repair bill temporarily tied up in the courts, state Republicans and Democrats have—relatively speaking—taken a welcome break from the political pettiness that’s become so standard this term.
That is, until March 17, when the Republican Party of Wisconsin—spear-headed in this particular case by Stephan Thompson—decided to take a run at UW-Madison’s revered history professor William Cronon.
Cronon posted a blog entry March 15 examining the influence the American Legislative Exchange Council may have on conservative policy making in the state. Two days later, the RPW submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for all of Cronon’s e-mails since Jan. 1, 2011, containing words including “Republican,” “union” and “recall,” acronyms like “WEAC” and “AFSCME” and names including Gov. Scott Walker, both Fitzgerald brothers and all eight Republican legislators subject to recall efforts.
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Academic Freedom Media Review, March 26-April 1

Compiled by Scholars at Risk
The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.
Malawi police arrest 5 university students for rioting
Afrique en Ligne, 3/31
Unusual Ruling for Academic Freedom
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 3/31
Yale and National U. of Singapore Set Plans for New Liberal-Arts College
Karin Fischer, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/31
‘Academic Freedom’ Offers Little Protection Against New Efforts to Obtain Professors’ E-Mails
Peter Schmidt and Colin Woodard, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/29
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Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Media Review, March 19-25

Scholars at Risk would like to draw attention to the situation surrounding Professor William Cronon of University of Wisconsin at Madison. According to media reports, the university was approached by the Republican Party of Wisconsin with a request, under Wisconsin’s open-records law, for Prof. Cronon’s e-mail records. The request was received just days after Prof. Cronon published a blog post regarding legislation proposed by Republican lawmakers. Please review the following two pieces—one featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, and one written by Prof. Cronon on his blog—for additional information on this case.

Wisconsin GOP Seeks E-Mails of a Madison Professor Who Criticized the Governor
A Tactic I Hope Republicans Will Rethink: Using the Open Records Law to Intimidate Critics
Academic Freedom Media Review
March 19 – 25, 2011
Compiled by Scholars at Risk
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Academic Freedom Media Review, March 12-18

Here, somewhat late, is the Scholars at Risk Media Review. The delay is my fault, due to a busy weekend and Monday. I apologize.
The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available at here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.
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Scholars at Risk calls for letters: Bahraini professor re-imprisoned
Scholars at Risk, 3/18
Tennessee Lawmaker Wants Student Protesters Punished
Quick Takes, Inside Higher Ed, 3/18
Bahrain: University students attacked as violence escalates
Education International, 3/17
Dalhousie medical school to sell Saudis 10 seats
James Bradshaw, The Globe and Mail, 3/17
Iranian university lecturer banned from teaching after publishing critical articles
Network of Education & Academic Rights, 3/16
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Yes, Ke$ha is Crap. No, I Don't Care

Ke$ha at European MTV Awards. She's rather silly, and definitely seems to know it

The European MTV awards are on as white noise in the background. Ke$ha just came on performing live. Her music is total crap! But she’s just an exaggerated version of any heavily marketed, no talent, sexually-provocative, female artist who relies on a team of supporting artists and producers to make a listenable record or do a decent concert. The difference is that she seems to know it. In fact, she flaunts it!
I’d be surprised if she were to say she takes her music seriously. Branded medicines are expensive cheap viagra from usa but you can save money by buying cheaper Kamagra. order levitra online Following the various quality properties of this medicine, and we recommend consultancy of your doctor, before you start using them. There are various negative consequences brought by this tadalafil online uk use this link health problem? Erectile dysfunction is a condition when a man does not achieve erection during intercourse, but he can achieve them at some point in their lives. Very first cialis viagra canada is the ProSolution Capsules, and second may be the Volume Supplements. If she takes her career seriously at all, she probably thinks of herself as a performance artist. But I think she is just laughing all the way to the bank! I’m not defending her, but I’m not condemning her, either. I just think she pretty innocuous in the larger landscape of what is American music today. Plenty of people do like her music, but I’ve yet to hear anyone claim she is important as a musician or particularly talented. Other, equally crappy artists, on the other hand, do get praised as such, and that is what is really sad.

How to Help in Japan or Libya

Smoke billows from a fire after the massive wave destroyed houses and roads in Kisenuma city. Photo: Reuters TV

The news from Japan is overwhelming. In effect the nation is dealing with three crises, two natural disasters that have already costs thousands of lives and another potential nuclear meltdown. I am hopeful the problems at the reactors will be contained, though there has already been some leakage. Japan is already devastated. Death tolls are expected to reach 10,000 or more. That number is hard to grasp and Japan far away, but we must wrap our heads around it and step up to help. Japan has done so for the US in its times of crises.
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Academic Freedom Media Review, March 5-11, 2011

Compiled by Scholars at Risk
The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available at here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.
Presidential duress: fears for Belarusian academic freedom
Colin Graham, Times Higher Education, 3/10
CHINA: Unrest fears prompt alert at universities
Yojana Sharma, University World News, 3/10
Virginia Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal of Climate-Papers Case
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/10
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New Orleans, Jazzology and Mardi Gras

(This entry was originally written on March 8, 2011. It is only now that I have finished the editing and gotten it posted.)
It’s Mardi Gras today, Fat Tuesday in English, though that lacks a certain je ne sais quois that makes it interesting. It’s the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the 40 days of atonement, fasting and sacrifice to honor the the great sacrifice made by Jesus. Some pretty heavy stuff, in fact. Back in the day when people took Lent really seriously, Lent was a was an intense season. People didn’t just give up chocolate for 40 days or abstain from meat on Fridays by ordering a large mushroom pizza. They might entirely abstain from food and drink for days, pray for hours on end or whip themselves with leather. In such austere times, Mardi Gras was the last opportunity committ all the sins you’d neglected since the end of Lent the year before, an opportunity to really go wild. Quite a few cities in the United States have some sort of Mardi Gras festivities, but New Orleans is first among them. No city’s celebrations are bigger or better.
Another thing New Orleans is known for is Jazz. It is called the Birthplace of Jazz for good reason. Like everywhere else in America, the area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, then colonized by the French, ceded to the Spanish as the result of war, returned to the French, and then sold to the Americans as part of the Louisiana purchase. Throughout all of this the mighty Mississippi took goods from the northern part of the continent to the Gulf of Mexico, and goods from all parts of the world in the other direction. Though in the heart of the South, New Orleans had both slaves and free blacks that lived there or that passed through regularly. They played drums and sang, free of the prohibitions against these things in most other parts of the South. This was the fertile, culturally diverse environment that allowed for the germination of the a musical genre we now know as Jazz.  It could only have happened there.
The George H. Buck, Jr. Foundation and the Jazzology group of record labels in New Orleans were founded to preserve the heritage of Jazz and to foster its continued development. They have become an essential part of the New Orleans cultural landscape, preserving not only New Orleans Jazz, but Jazz and related genres in all their variety. Some of the new releases are well worth checking out.
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SAR Academic Freedom Media Review: 26 February – 4 March 2011

The Scholars at Risk media review seeks to raise awareness about academic freedom issues in the news. Subscription information and archived media reviews are available here. The views and opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Scholars at Risk.
Censorship or a Mirage?
Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Ed, 3/4
The man from Kyrgyzstan
Corydon Ireland, Harvard Gazette, 3/3
‘Suspect’ Offa letter threatens sector’s freedom
Rebecca Attwood, Times Higher Education, 3/3
Academic Freedom and the Corporate University
Bill Gleason, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 3/3
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Athletics and Budget Cuts

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I saw an interesting report about the costs of college sports on the PBS program Need to Know tonight. According to the report, the football coach at the University of Alabama earns 6 million a year, more than twice the salary of the nation’s highest paid college president. The Men’s Basketball Coach at the University of Connecticut is the highest paid employee in the state. These are both public universities, by the way.
That, alone, is shocking. It is often argued that the sports teams bring in revenue in ticket sales and merchandise licensing, but people buy plenty of merchandise from colleges that don’t play in the big tournaments. It’s also argued the sports teams bring in exposure, but Harvard and Yale don’t field NCAA teams and they seem to have little trouble attracting students. Ultimately, if a potential student has a choice between a really prestigious school that places graduates in great jobs and and a college well known for athletics, I dare say, most would pick the college that offers the better job prospects.

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

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