WHEREAS George Mason University is proud of its
long-standing commitment to protecting the civil rights and liberties of its
students, faculty and employees;
WHEREAS the University has a diverse population,
including many foreign students and faculty, whose contributions are vital to
the culture, character, and learning environment of our University;
WHEREAS the preservation of civil rights and liberties
is essential to the well-being of a democratic society and an academic
environment;
WHEREAS federal, state, local and campus governments
should protect the public from terrorist attacks such as those that occurred on
September 11, 2001, but should do so in a rational and deliberative fashion to
ensure that any new security measure enhances public safety without impairing
constitutional rights or infringing on civil liberties;
WHEREAS government security measures that undermine
fundamental rights do damage to the institution of academia and the values that
the students, faculty and employees of the University hold dear;
WHEREAS we believe that there is no inherent conflict
between national security and the preservation of liberty -- we can be
both safe and free;
WHEREAS federal policies adopted since September 11,
2001, including provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56) and
related executive orders, regulations and actions threaten fundamental rights
and liberties by:
(a) authorizing
the indefinite incarceration of non-citizens based on suspicion, and the
indefinite incarceration of citizens designated by the President as �enemy
combatants� without access to counsel or recourse to the federal courts;
(b) limiting
the traditional authority of federal courts to curb law enforcement abuse of
electronic surveillance in anti-terrorism investigations and ordinary criminal
investigations;
(c) expanding
the authority of federal agents to conduct so-called �sneak and peek� or �black
bag� searches, in which the subject of the search warrant is unaware that
his/her property has been searched;
(d) granting
law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access to personal medical,
financial, library and education records with little if any judicial oversight;
(e) limiting
constitutionally protected speech through overbroad definitions of
�terrorism�;
(f)
permitting the FBI to conduct surveillance of religious services,
Internet chat rooms, political demonstrations, and other public meetings
of any kind without having any evidence that a crime has been or may be
committed;
WHEREAS these new powers pose a particular threat to
the civil rights and liberties of the members of our University community.
WHEREAS new proposed federal legislation seeks to further
limit the civil liberties of our University community and further endanger the
rights of our students, faculty and employees; and
WHEREAS many other cities and universities throughout the country have
enacted resolutions reaffirming support for civil rights and civil liberties in
the face of government policies that threaten these values and demanding
accountability from law enforcement agencies regarding their use of these new
powers;
THEREFORE
BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE FACULTY SENATE AND LOCAL CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN
ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERISTY PROFESSORS OF GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY:
1. AFFIRM their strong support for fundamental
constitutional rights and their opposition to federal measures that infringe on
civil liberties and academic freedoms.
2. AFFIRM their strong support for the rights of all students, faculty and
employees and oppose measures that single out individuals for legal scrutiny or
enforcement activity based on their race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age or
country of origin.
3. URGE all libraries at the University to take steps
to educate members of the University community that, under Section 215 of the
USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56), records of the books and other materials
borrowed from the libraries, and records of electronic communications and
transactions may be obtained by federal agents, and that, if these records are
sought under authorities granted under the USA PATRIOT Act, the library is
prohibited from informing the members of the community.
4. URGE the
Office of the Registrar to provide notice to individuals whose education
records have been obtained by law enforcement agents pursuant to section 507 of
the USA PATRIOT Act.
5. URGE all bookstores and other entities
that maintain business records of purchases at the University to take steps to
educate members of the University community that, under Section 215 of the USA
PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56), records of the books and other materials
purchased may be obtained by federal agents, and that, if� these records are sought under authorities
granted under the USA PATRIOT Act, the University is prohibited from informing
the members of the community.
6. URGE all of
the University�s computer laboratories and other centers with public computer
terminals to take steps to educate
members of the University community that, under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT
Act (Public Law 107-56), any emails sent or documents used on the computers or
on the University Internet Service Provider may be monitored and/or obtained by
federal agents, and that, if� these
records are sought under authorities granted under the USA PATRIOT Act, the
University is prohibited from informing the members of the community.
7. URGE the University Administration to
send a notice to all students, faculty and employees by mail and by email notifying
them that all of their interaction on the University ISP, as well as their
library records and their bookstore records and their student files can be
monitored or obtained by Federal Agents.�
The Administration is further urged to include a copy of this Resolution
with that notice.�
8. URGE the
University Administration to seek periodically from federal authorities
information in a form that facilitates an assessment of the effect of federal
anti-terrorism efforts on the students, faculty and employees of the University
and to transmit summary of this information to the Faculty Senate every year.
9. DIRECT the
Secretaries of the Faculty Senate and the GMU chapter of the AAUP to transmit a
copy of this resolution to Senators John Warner and George Allen and
Representatives Tom Davis, Frank Wolf and James Moran accompanied by a letter
urging them to monitor federal anti-terrorism tactics and to ensure that state
anti-terrorism laws and policies be implemented in a manner that does not
infringe on civil liberties;
10. DIRECT the Secretaries of the Faculty Senate and the GMU chapter of
the AAUP to transmit a copy of this resolution to Governor Warner, and
appropriate members of the State Legislature, accompanied by a letter urging
them to ensure that state anti-terrorism laws and policies be implemented in a
manner that does not infringe on civil liberties as described in this
resolution.
11. DIRECT the Secretaries
of the Faculty Senate and the GMU chapter of the AAUP to transmit a copy of
this resolution to President Bush and the U.S. Attorney General.
12. DIRECT the Secretaries of the
Faculty Senate and the GMU chapter of the AAUP to transmit a copy of this
resolution to the Faculty Senates and AAUP chapters of the other Virginia
public universities, accompanied by a letter urging them to adopt similar
resolutions.