America as Global Partner?
Thursday, September 11th, 7:00PM-9:00 PM, (PAC 134)
Two years ago, the nations of the world came together to support the United States when it endured the worst instance of terrorism in human history. Two years later, it seems, the United States has squandered much of the good will it garnered on that day. This rapid shift in attitude towards the United States cries out for an explanation. It perhaps can be understood through reference to the widespread perception of the United States as the only remaining global super-power. How well the United States has lived up to its role as world leader---and what, in fact, this role entails---are themselves subjects of fierce debate. What, exactly, ought the role of the United States to be on the global scene in the present day? In what sense, if any, does the United States have a special responsibility to attend to underdeveloped or oppressed nations? Is the United States living up to its role as "global partner"---militarily, environmentally, economically, morally? Does our foreign policy reflect this responsibility? This forum commemorates the anniversary of September 11th by taking a close look both at how our nation arrived at its unique place atop the other nations and at what it needs to accomplish if it is to be a positive force in the global community into the twenty-first century.
Andrew Flescher, Director of Center for Applied and Professional Ethics (moderating)
Bill Stewart, Department of Political Science
Jim Jacob, Department of Political Science
Michael Perelman, Department of Economics
Tom LeBlanc, Graduate, International, and Sponsored Programs
Responding to SARS: Public Health, Civil Liberties,
and the Ethics of Quarantining
Thursday, September 25th, 7:00PM-9:00 PM, (PAC 134)
The recent outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), most notably in China (fall 2002) and subsequently Toronto (winter 2003), compelled health officials as well as federal, provincial and local governments in these regions to make difficult decisions, often with limited information and short deadlines. Decision makers had to balance individual freedoms against the common good, fear for personal safety against the duty to treat the sick, and economic losses against the need to contain the spread of a deadly disease. The SARS outbreak raised ethical issues for which the societies trying to contain the disease were not fully prepared.
In their response to the advent of SARS did public health officials and the governments supervising them act swiftly enough to contain its potential to become an epidemic? Or, did those in charge overdo it---unnecessarily curbing freedoms in part due to the influence of a culture of fear propagated by the media? Just what is an appropriate protocol when we, as a society, are threatened by a potentially deadly epidemic? Are there circumstances under which we ought to agree to forego basic, individual freedoms during the early stages of a disease that is relatively unknown? What circumstances justify quarantining, compromising patient privacy rights, and devoting a substantial bulk of the available economic and medical resources to any particular disease?
Andrew Flescher, Director of Center for Applied and Professional Ethics (moderating)
Peter Cruise, Department of Health and Community Service
Roland Lamarine, Department of Health and Community Service
Charlie Geshekter, Department of History
The Media and the Ethics of Reporting
Thursday, October 9th, 7:00PM-9:00 PM, (PAC 134)
What gets reported in the news and why? How does the media affect politics, foreign policy, and public opinion? What are the implications of corporate ownership of the media, in particular ownership by a single corporate parent? Has the American media become too sensationalist---so much so that the once hard and fast distinction between the news and entertainment has become irrevocably blurred? Or, to the contrary, is the media our last hope in a day and age in which powerful governments (worldwide and at home) threaten to deprive its citizens of basic freedoms and civil liberties? Finally, what special responsibilities should journalists themselves embrace when reporting the news? What limitations, if any, should they observe in order to avoid any ethical wrongdoing?
Andrew Flescher, Director of Center for Applied and Professional Ethics (moderating)
Glen Bleske, Department of Journalism
Troy Jollimore, Department of Philosophy
Kurt Nordstrom, Department of Journalism
David Little, Editor, Chico Enterprise Record
The California Recall: A Retrospective
Thursday, October 30th, 7:00PM-9:00 PM, PAC 144 (Harlen Adams Theatre)
Daniel Weintraub, Columnist, Sacramento Bee
Amid cries that the recent push for the recall of Governor Davis was more of a circus than a remedy, Californians are left wondering just what is the right thing to do when important elected officials yield very low performance ratings in the positions for which they are elected. Does a vote to recall Governor Davis serve or thwart democracy? What is the appropriate process by which public officials ought to be held accountable, both when they are campaigning for their sought after positions, and once they assume office?
Daniel Weintraub has covered state politics for 16 years, including 8 as a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and 5 as the Capitol Bureau Chief for the Orange County Register before moving to The Bee in November of 2000. He is a native Californian who was born and raised in San Diego and graduated in economics from San Diego State University. He lives in Sacramento with his wife and two sons. His column appears in the Bee on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and is syndicated throughout California. He also publishes a daily weblog at www.sacbee.com/insider.
Dr. Susanna W. Grannis-Pflaum, director of CHABA (Children Affected by HIV\AIDS).
Most of the 14 million children who have been orphaned by AIDS worldwide live in sub-Saharan Africa. How can one begin to understand a problem so enormous? Dr. Grannis's multimedia presentation shows the devastation the disease causes vulnerable children, and it also presents centers of hope. CHABHA (Children Affected by HIV/AIDS) is a new, international nonprofit organization that helps children and their families through direct aid to community-based child care and education projects in Namibia, Rwanda, and South Africa.
Dr. Grannis, Director of CHABHA, spent many years as teacher in schools in Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, and as professor and dean at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Queens College CUNY, and Bank Street College, NY. She is also the author and editor of four books, and author and co-author of more than 35 articles and chapters. In 1996 she was a Fulbright Professor at the University of Namibia. She and her husband have visited in southern and central African several times since, most recently in May 2003 when she participated in workshops on anti-AIDS education in Rwanda and visited the projects currently highlighted in CHABHA.
Patriot Act II?
Thursday, December 11th, 7:00PM-9:00 PM, (PAC 134)
Two years ago the Patriot Act was written, passed (by a 98-1 vote in the U.S. Senate), and signed into law within seven weeks of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. As a result, the government gained new powers to wiretap phones, read e-mails, confiscate property of suspected terrorists, use surveillance on its own citizens without judicial review, conduct secret searches, and check up on the reading habits of library users. Now, General John Ashcroft wants to add to these powers in an act that is informally being called The Patriot Act II. Can liberty be forced? At what cost ought we to tolerate the protection of liberty? What has been the effect of the Patriot Act on minorities in this country, and what would be the further effects of a Patriot Act II? Is there a legal basis for what is proposed in the second rendition of the Patriot Act? A moral basis?
Andrew Flescher, Director of Center for Applied and Professional Ethics (moderating)
Paul Persons, Department of Political Science
Gregory S. Knell, Esq. Litigation Specialist, District of Columbia
Ali Sarsour, Activist, Human Relation Committee, Recipient of Humanitarian Award (Chico Peace and Justice Center)