By The IACLU
The America Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, founded in 1935, will host its first ever Conference on Civil Liberties" on Saturday, May 5, in Iowa City at the University of Iowa Memorial Union (IMU).
"The ACLU of Iowa is excited to offer this opportunity to its members, young people, and others interested in promoting civil liberties in the 21st Century," said Ben Stone, Executive Director of the ACLU of Iowa. "We hope to educate and energize young and old alike to stand up for their constitutional rights as the so-called "War on Terror" continues to threaten the rule of law," he added.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE: Workshop "tracks" will
focus on three topics: Criminal Justice, Youth & Young Adults, and
"The ACLU and You." A Q&A session will end each
workshop. Early, pre-paid registration rates (by Thursday, May 3) for the
conference are: $5=Students; $10=ACLU members; and $15=General
Public. Check-in and same-day registration begins at Noon, with the
conference scheduled to run from 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm.
Among the panelists and speakers participating are: Deborah Caldwell-Stone,
Deputy Director of the American Library Association ("Free Speech &
the Internet"); Mark Kende, Director of the Drake University
Constitutional Law Resource Center ("Government Tools in the War on
Terror"); Mark Smith, First Assistant Public Defender of Iowa, & Bob
Rigg, Criminal Defense Program Director at the Drake Law School Clinic
("Iowan's Criminal Justice System: Does it provide justice?");
and B. John Burns, Assistant Federal Public Defender ("Know Your
Rights: Law Enforcement Stops"). Other sessions will cover the
use of automated traffic cameras, the rights of minors, and how the so-called
"War on Terror" has impacted the right to dissent here in
ABOUT THE ANNUAL DINNER AND FEATURED SPEAKER: Doors will open
at 6:00 p.m. in the River Room of the IMU. The featured speaker will be
Bruce Schneier, an internationally-renowned security technologist and author.
The title of his presentation: "Counterterrorism in
Through the Patriot Acts and President Bush's "War on Terror," many
civil liberties have been sacrificed in the name of security. Schneier
will present a practical approach to security - both on a personal and
nationwide scale - and will explain, debunk and draw lessons from security
stories which make the news. He will discuss the non-security motivations
for much of our nation's security and explain how future technological
developments will leave us less safe, not more. As Schneier states,
"The security vs. privacy dichotomy is a false one; the true trade-off is
liberty vs. control."
Advanced dinner reservations at $35/person are required by Thursday, May
3. If available, "at-the-door" dinners will be
$40/person. Students can apply for a "scholarship" dinner by
emailing iowaclu@aclu-ia.org
and submitting a $20 payment (via check or credit card) to hold the
reservation, which will be refunded at the time of the dinner.
For more information on the ACLU-IA
Conference and Annual Dinner or to register, please go to www.aclu-ia.org and click
on "Conference & Annual Dinner" or call 515/243-3576 x13.