--- Forwarded Message from Claire Bradin Siskin <[log in to unmask]> --- >Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 12:59:10 -0500 >From: Claire Bradin Siskin <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: letter from NEALLT >To: [log in to unmask] Northeast Association for Language Learning Technology Robert Henderson Language Media Center University of Pittsburgh February 16, 2005 Dear Colleagues, The Northeast Association for Language Learning Technology has been engaged in very concerned discussion about the upcoming FLEAT V conference to be hosted by Brigham Young University. As we consider the prospect of attending this conference, we first would like to make it clear that we hold all our colleagues at the Humanities Learning Resource Center of BYU in very high regard. BYU is a unique and in many regards impressive institution, at which - seventy-two percent of the student body speaks a second language and many faculty are fluent in at least one language other than English; - during any given semester, roughly twenty-five percent of the student body may be enrolled in language courses-a rate three times the national average; and - courses in 74 different languages are offered. Many of us have had long friendships and collegial relationships with the staff of the BYU Humanities Learning Resource Center. All of us have profited from their expertise and knowledge at previous conferences and could learn more from visiting the truly world class language facility that BYU is in the process of opening. We recognize that individuals at the Humanities Learning Resource Center have worked energetically for several years to provide an impressive conference experience for FLEAT V. However, we recently became aware of, and sensitized to, the level of BYU's deliberate discrimination against members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. As you may be aware, it is BYU's official university policy that: "Any behaviors that indicate homosexual conduct, including those not sexual in nature, are inappropriate and violate the Honor Code. Violations of the Honor Code may result in actions up to and including separation from the University." BYU's current policies are designed to harass, discipline, suspend, and ultimately expel any student, professor, or employee suspected of being gay or lesbian. These policies are actively enforced by the Administration and have resulted in the dismissal of students and the firing of faculty and staff. BYU is also on the list of censured administrations of the American Association of University Professors due to past violations of the generally recognized principles of academic freedom and tenure as recognized by the AAUP. BYU has been on this list since 1998. The AAUP report states the "the climate for academic freedom at Brigham Young University is distressingly poor". We respect that BYU has always defined itself as an openly and distinctively Latter-Day Saint University. We also recognize that an institution wholly owned by the LDS Church should reflect the values of the LDS community. Those values are however in sharp conflict with the identities of some, and the values of many, of our members. By organizing a conference at BYU we are placing ourselves in uncomfortable association with these policies. Some may even perceive us to be endorsing them. We do not call for a boycott of the FLEAT V conference but feel compelled to raise awareness of these issues so that members of NEALLT, IALLT and others who are interested may make informed, personal decisions about whether or not to attend. We do not propose a litmus test for future conference sites but urge the Board of IALLT to revisit the procedures by which sites are selected so that all members will feel comfortable to attend future conferences. In the case of BYU, there was good reason to think the selection would be controversial. This has not been an easy letter for us to write, and it will be with honest regret that some of us decide that we cannot in good conscience attend. Sincerely, Board of the Northeast Association for Language Learning Technology (NEALLT) Michael Jones Webmaster, NEALLT Director, Language Resource Center Swarthmore College Claire Bradin Siskin President, NEALLT Director, Robert Henderson Language Media Center University of Pittsburgh Michael Heller Vice President, NEALLT Director of Language Learning Technology Monclair State University Marianne Crusius Treasurer, NEALLT Manager, Language Resource Center Princeton University Cindy Evans Past President, NEALLT Director, Foreign Language Resource Center Skidmore College Mary Toulouse Newsletter Editor, NEALLT Director, Foreign Language Resource Center Lafayette College For more information: About BYU: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young_University AAUP on Academic Freedom: - http://www.aaup.org/com-a/index.htm BYU on Academic Freedom: -http://www.byu.edu/fc/pages/refmapages/acadfree.html Affirmation, a web site of Gay & Lesbian Mormons: - http://www.affirmation.org/learning/winning_or_losing.asp BYU Honor Code: - http://www.byui.edu/DeanOfStudents/Honorcode.htm - http://campuslife.byu.edu/HONORCODE/chaste.htm Stories of punishment and dismissal of students for honor code violations: - http://www.advocate.com/html/stories/847//847_colleges.asp - http://www.collegefreedom.org/report8.htm - http://www.sodomylaws.org/usa/utah/utnews15.htm BYU support for the publication of academic texts that liken the establishment of equal right for gays and lesbians to the expansion of slavery and cite homosexuality in foreign countries as a threat to American national security. http://www.law2.byu.edu/jel/sp1996/html/Hilton.htm -- Claire Bradin Siskin Director Robert Henderson Language Media Center G 17 Cathedral of Learning University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 15260 Office Phone: (412) 624-5939 Email: [log in to unmask] http://www.polyglot.pitt.edu *********************************************** LLTI is a service of IALLT, the International Association for Language Learning, and The Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning (http://consortium.dartmouth.edu). 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