Posted 03/24/2000
Contact: Andrew Svec, 218-281-8380
Speaker to Discuss Internet Censorship March 29 at UMC
Roger K. Newman, a noted authority on civil liberties and censorship, will present his lecture “Sex, Censorship and the Internet” Wednesday, March 29, at 7:00 p.m. in Bede Ballroom on the campus of the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC). The lecture will last approximately 45 minutes, followed by a question and answer session. The event is free and open to the public.
The lecture deals with the timely topic of what constitutes free speech and how that applies to the Internet, which is viewed as perhaps the last place to allow total freedom of expression. The “sex” in the title of Newman’s lecture is meant to be more than merely provocative. “It is safe to say that without sex, either as the subject or behind it, there would be a very, very small part of the censorship or attempted censorship there is now or indeed has ever been,” he says.
Newman’s biography of Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black won the Scribes Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is the editor-in-chief of a four-volume encyclopedia, “The Constitution and Its Amendments,” is the co-author of “Banned Films,” a history of movie censorship, and otherwise has written and lectured extensively across the country on the Supreme Court and various civil liberties subjects. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and taught constitutional law at New York University, and is now Research Scholar at NYU Law School. His current project is a book on school prayer.
Newman’s appearance is sponsored by UMC’s Concerts and Lectures Committee. Earlier in the day, he will meet with students in various communications and technology related courses. He will also lead discussion at a special lunch with faculty who are interested in discussing free speech and the Internet. Andrew Svec, Director of Communications at UMC and a member of the Concerts and Lectures Committee, states, "We are excited about bringing Mr. Newman to campus. Freedom of speech and censorship are increasingly complicated issues. Since our faculty, staff, and students use the Internet every single day in numerous ways, it makes sense for us to examine these issues closely and to discuss them openly. Mr. Newman should raise some interesting questions."
Disability accommodations are available upon request and can be made by calling 218-281-8587.