At a news conference on June 21, the American Civil Liberties Union will release a report examining government policies and practices that have hampered academic freedom and scientific inquiry since September 11, 2001. The report sheds new light on how these policies curtail basic rights and put all Americans at risk.
The report, Science Under Siege, connects the dots between the government's control of the free flow of scientific information, unreasonable barriers to the use of scientific materials and increased monitoring of and restrictions on foreign students.
Through the report, the ACLU challenges claims by the Bush administration that such policies are needed for national security, and points to documented cases in which the administration has distorted scientific and academic inquiry for particular political purposes.
Among the abuses the ACLU examines in Science Under Siege are moves to over classify information and designate whole areas of research as "sensitive but unclassified;" outright censorship and prescreening of scientific articles before publication; exclusion of foreign students from access to research projects; suppression and distortion of environmental and public health information; and increased restrictions on materials and technology commonly used in basic scientific research.
WHAT: A news conference to release the ACLU report, Science Under Siege
WHO: Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU; Tania Simoncelli, co-author of Science Under Siege and staff attorney with the ACLU Technology and Liberty Project; Mark Smith, Director of Government Relations of the American Association of University Professors; and individuals whohave been affected by Bush administration policies.
WHEN: Tuesday, June 21, 2005, 9:30 a.m.
WHERE: National Press Club, First Amendment Room, 13 th Floor, 629 14 th St, NW, Washington, DC
An embargoed executive summary of Science Under Siege is found at http://acluva.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/20050621-Science-Under-Seige.pdf. If you would like an embargoed copy of the full report, contact the national ACLU media office at 212/549-2666 or the ACLU of Virginia at 804/644-8080.
CONTACTS:
National ACLU: Erica Pelletreau, 212-519-7829, Paul Silva, 212-549-2689; media@aclu.org ACLU of Virginia : Kent Willis, Executive Director, 804-644-8022, acluva@acluva.org
