[SFRA-L] Censorship of Serenity

Sat Oct 1 17:48:56 EDT 2011

It does seem extreme and unlikely. What is the back-story about the campus
that might explain this campus police hostility to what seems like an
ordinary professorial practice from time immemorial. Is there an underlying
political dispute here, or a union-management dispute, or spill-over from
the Governor's actions? Bruce Rockwood

On Sat, Oct 1, 2011 at 10:50 AM, <pierceqfpl at ewwpi.com> wrote:

> Something that bothers me even more than the censorship itself. Do the
> campus police at Wisconsin-Stout actually have the authority to arrest and
> imprison professors as they claim? Where's the jail? Does the university
> have its own criminal court that can try alleged offenders? I've never heard
> of anything like this at any university.
>
> --J.J.P.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> *From:* Rockwood, Bruce L [mailto:rockwood at bloomu.edu]
> *Sent:* Saturday, October 1, 2011 08:24 AM
> *To:* 'Levy, Michael', 'Greg Conley', sfra-l at charlemagne.cddc.vt.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [SFRA-L] Censorship of Serenity
>
> This could be a panel at Detroit. It also shows that SF still has the
> ability to unnerve the powers that be, not a bad thing in these difficult
> times. Bruce Rockwood "When Dwight Eisenhower as the new president of
> Columbia University in the 1950s was introduced to the senior faculty, he
> remarked how pleased he was to meet with the employees of the university.
> The physicist I.I. Rabi interrupted him: 'Mr. President,' he said, 'we are
> not the employees of the university. We are the university!' Perceptions
> were different then. . . . Some intellectuals see these changes in the
> university as a decline of the higher culture. Others see evolution and
> progress. Which change you see depends, ironically, on how you were
> educated." -- Heinz Pagels, The Dreams of Reason, pp 37-38 (1988).
> ________________________________________ From:
> sfra-l-bounces at charlemagne.cddc.vt.edu [
> sfra-l-bounces at charlemagne.cddc.vt.edu] On Behalf Of Levy, Michael [
> LevyM at uwstout.edu] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 12:26 PM To: Greg
> Conley; sfra-l at charlemagne.cddc.vt.edu Subject: Re: [SFRA-L] Censorship of
> Serenity There's also a story in the Chronicle of Higher Education, And no
> one has actually stopped anything. No apologies. No acceptance of Miller's
> right to have the posters up. No admission that what they did was wrong.
> ________________________________ From: sfra-l-bounces at wiz.cath.vt.edu [
> sfra-l-bounces at wiz.cath.vt.edu] on behalf of Greg Conley [
> gregconley at gmail.com] Sent: Friday, September 30, 2011 8:39 AM To:
> sfra-l at charlemagne.cddc.vt.edu Subject: Re: [SFRA-L] Censorship of
> Serenity There's apparently at least one new development: **
> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110929/01225516129/university-police-administration-freak-out-over-nathan-fillion-firefly-poster-censor-threaten-professor.shtmlShort version -- an advocacy group explained exactly how and why this is
> censorship and unacceptable on a campus, and the people involved appear to
> have stopped (called off a meeting, dunno how permanent that is) but still
> insist they are in the right. On Sep 29, 2011, at 8:54 PM,
> pierceqfpl at ewwpi.com** wrote: I see that even the Huffington Post, which
> might have considered the original poster politicallly incorrect -- duh,
> must be propaganda for gun nuts, duh -- slammed the campus cups and Sorenson
> for his mealy-mouthed response. --J.J.P. -----Original Message----- From:
> Levy, Michael [mailto:LevyM at uwstout.edu] Sent: Thursday, September 29,
> 2011 03:16 PM To: 'Susan George', 'Davis, Doug', 'Lewis Murphy', **
> sfra-l at wiz.cath.vt.edu** Subject: Re: [SFRA-L] Censorship of Serenity
> Susan, what surprises me the most is to find out that you're a fellow Bears
> fan. Who would have thunk it? ________________________________ From:
> sfra-l-bounces at wiz.cath.vt.edu** [sfra-l-bounces at wiz.cath.vt.edu**] on
> behalf of Susan George [sageorge13 at yahoo.com**] Sent: Thursday, September
> 29, 2011 1:58 PM To: Davis, Doug; Lewis Murphy; sfra-l at wiz.cath.vt.edu**Subject: Re: [SFRA-L] Censorship of Serenity Hello All, While I haven't read
> the whole exchange about this Serenity thing, I can say that this isn't
> really new in the work place, though certainly more upsetting being at a
> university. Many years ago, say 1989 oe 90 I had a poster on my wall of
> Chicago Bears quarterback, Jim M and Walter Payton. They were dressed like
> Tubbs and Crocket from Miami Vice with guns (and a live Bear of course). I
> was told I had to take it down for sexual harrasement issues!! And they were
> fully dressed . . . and so it goes in the work place. Best, Susan G Susan A.
> George, Ph.D. Merritt Writing Program University of California, Merced
> Science Fiction Research Association, Secretary From: "Davis, Doug" To:
> Lewis Murphy ; "sfra-l at wiz.cath.vt.edu**" Sent: Thursday, September 29,
> 2011 7:22 AM Subject: Re: [SFRA-L] Censorship of Serenity I'm not sure it's
> that cut and dry--depends on the office policy regarding decorations. If
> posters are allowed but one promoting women's rights is ordered taken
> down--that's discrimination and the beginning of a lawsuit. Anyway, stupid
> posters on doors is very much part of academia and life in the non-profit
> sector, Lewis. The principle of academic freedom is essential to basic
> knowledge production--and it extends to our office doors unless some
> system-wide policy forbids all door decor. At my institution I frankly
> wouldn't mind such a policy. A colleague of mine in the history d ept. has a
> poster on his door calling Obama/Pelosi/Reed the axis of evil. Obama has
> horns on his head. Oh well. I put a postcard from Donnie Darko on my office
> door; nobody understands it. Nor do I. Doug
> ________________________________________ From: **
> sfra-l-bounces at wiz.cath.vt.edu** [**sfra-l-bounces at wiz.cath.vt.edu**] On
> Behalf Of Lewis Murphy [**atlscifiguy at bellsouth.net**] Sent: Thursday,
> September 29, 2011 8:55 AM To: ** sfra-l at wiz.cath.vt.edu** Subject: Re:
> [SFRA-L] Censorship of Serenity What I find interesting in this is the
> differences in work/employment environment, between academia and other
> fields. For example, in most other situations, if your boss/employer tells
> you that a poster cannot be disp layed in the workplace, and you do it
> anyway, you get fired. Free speech is never discussed. Lewis On 9/28/2011
> 6:37 PM, Sue & Bruce Rockwood wrote: In the Chronicle of Higher Education
> afternoon update today. What nonsense! U. of Wisconsin Professor and
> Administrators Clash Over Posters Called Threatening Snipped for length
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