Nadine Strossen, the first woman to serve as president
of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), will be the
keynote speaker for Eastern Michigan University's celebration
of Women's History Month.
Strossen, president of the ACLU since 1991, presents, "Sex,
Speech and Surveillance," Tuesday, March 21, 7 p.m., McKenny
Union Ballroom. Her speech is one of 17 Women's History
Month events sponsored by EMU's Women's and Gender Studies
Program during March.
 |
DEFENDING RIGHTS: Nadine
Strossen, president
of the
American Civil Liberties Union,
is the keynote
speaker for
EMU's celebration of Women's
History
Month in March.
Strossen will present "Sex,
Speech
and Surveillance,"
Tuesday, March 21, at 7 p.m.
in
the McKenny Union Ballroom.
Strossen's keynote
is one of 17
Women's History Month events
sponsored
by EMU's Women's
and Gender Studies Program. |
According to a program summary, Strossen will address
some of the major threats to civil liberties today, including
assaults on the freedoms of women and LGBT individuals;
crackdowns on free speech online and in the broadcast media,
including speech that is important for women and LGBT individuals;
and increasingly intrusive surveillance measures that not
only undermine privacy, but also chill free speech. Examples
she will discuss include the National Security Agency's
secret, unwarranted interception of communications by Americans
and the government's subpoenas of Google and other search
engines.
"During this time of public controversy over the infringement
of civil liberties in the name of national security, we
thought it was important to highlight an aspect of that
controversy that is not often addressed: the particular
effect on women and LGBT individuals," said Linda Schott,
director of EMU's Women's and Gender Studies and coordinator
of Women's History Month on campus. "As president of the
American Civil Liberties Union and an expert on women's
issues, Nadine Strossen is well prepared to address this
topic."
Stroessen, a professor of law at New York Law School,
has written, lectured and practiced extensively in the
areas of constitutional law, civil liberties and international
human rights.
The National Law Journal has twice named Strossen one
of "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America." In
1996, Working Woman Magazine listed her among the "350
Women Who Changed the World 1976-1996." In 1997, Upside
Magazine included Strossen in the "Elite 100: 100
Executives Leading The Digital Revolution." In 1998,
Vanity Fair Magazine included Strossen in "America's
200 Most Influential Women." In 1999, Ladies Home
Journal included Strossen in "America's 100 Most Important
Women."
Women's History Month
The public celebration of women's history in the
U.S. began in 1978 as "Women's History Week" in
Sonoma County, California. In 1981, Sen. Orrin
Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)
co-sponsored a joint congressional resolution proclaiming
a national Women's History Week. In 1987, Congress
expanded the celebration to a month, and March
was declared Women's History Month. |
Since becoming ACLU president, Strossen has made more
than 200 public presentations per year before diverse audiences,
including at approximately 500 campuses and in many foreign
countries. She comments frequently on legal issues in the
national media, having appeared on virtually every national
news program. She was a regular guest on ABC's "Politically
Incorrect" with Bill Maher, and has been a monthly columnist
for two Web magazines and a weekly commentator on the Talk
America Radio Network. In October 2001, Strossen made her
professional theater debut as the guest star in Eve Ensler's
award-winning play, "The Vagina Monologues,"during a week-long
run at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Strossen's writings have been published in many scholarly
and general interest publications. Her
book, "Defending Pornography: Free Speech,
Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights" (Scribner 1995),
was a named a "notable book" of 1995 by the
New York Times and was republished in October 2000 by NYU
Press, with a new introduction by the author. Her co-authored
book, "Speaking of Race, Speaking of Sex: Hate Speech,
Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties (N.Y.U. Press 1995)," was
named an "outstanding book" by the Gustavus Myers
Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America.
In 1986, Strossen became one of the first three women
to receive the U.S. Jaycees' "Ten Outstanding Young
Americans" Award." She also was the first American
woman to win the Jaycees International's "The Outstanding
Young Persons Of the World" award.
Strossen has received honorary doctorate degrees from
the University of Rhode Island, the University of Vermont,
San Joaquin College of Law, Rocky Mountain College, the
Massachusetts School of Law and Mt. Holyoke College. Other
awards include: the "Women of Distinction" award
from the Women's League for Conservative Judaism, The Media
Institute's Freedom of Speech Award, the Free Speech Coalition's "Freedom
Isn't Free Award," and the National Council of Jewish
Women's "Women Who Dared" award. Strossen is a member of
the Council on Foreign Relations.
Strossen graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College
(1972) and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School (1975),
where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Before
becoming a law professor, she practiced law for nine years
in Minneapolis (her hometown) and New York City.
Women's History Month at EMU begins Tuesday, March 7,
with a presentation by a professor of Japanese history
from Tokyo University who acted as historical consultant
for "Otogi Zoshi," a Japanese animated series targeted
toward young girls. The presentation will take place, noon-
2 p.m., in 303 Pray-Harrold, and will be repeated Thursday,
March 9.
 |
McLean |
Fortune magazine senior writer Bethany McLean, who broke
the Enron scandal in 2001 and authored "The Smartest Guys
in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron," will
discuss corporate ethics Wednesday, March 8, 7 p.m, in
the McKenny Union Ballroom.
Other women's subjects that will be explored through lectures
include civil rights; midwifery in the U.S.; women and
girls in math and science; the future for women and girls
in athletics under Title IX; gender roles in classical
Hollywood cinema; the ways cultural and medical practices
affect women's health, and much more.
For a complete list of Women's History Month events on
campus, go to www.emich.edu/wstudies
