2008 Liberty Conference A Great Success

The Liberty Conference was a great success. Students from throughout the Genesee Valley region came to the University of Rochester River Campus where they engaged civil liberties experts, fellow students and themselves on issues of privacy, censorship and equal access.

They came from the streets of Rochester and the farms of the Southern Tier to listen to Steve Jacobs, a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and former host of NPR’s computer show, “What the Tech!” speak about the history of public communication and the government’s efforts to control speech.

Then they were combined with other students in “chatrooms” where volunteer facilitators helped them consider the constitutional aspects of activities the students partake in daily, such as surfing the web, texting and Googling for information.

As the day drew to a close, Nora and I were walking behind a small group of young men as they headed towards their bus. We overheard one say to the others. “Yeah, this was good, I learned a lot.” That was gratifying.

The event introduced hundreds of students to the Genesee Valley Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union and to our common struggle to preserve and promote the basic rights guaranteed to all Americans. Preparing the next generation to carry the torch of liberty and preserve our core values – the freedoms of speech, religion, privacy and freedom from government intrusion, as well as the most basic rights to due process, fairness and equality – is the chapter’s primary goal.

As you can well imagine, there were substantial costs to hosting this event, including bussing the students, renting classroom space and buying the necessary supplies. Without your support and membership in the NYCLU this would not have happened. All of us at the office, on the board and program committee thank you.

Gary Pudup / Nora Dimmock

Chapter Director / Program Committee Chair

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