vol. 59, no. 5

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Volume LIX

A Halloween

Tale

, Wf na Friday the Thirteenth letter, ACLU-

[ attorney Margaret Crosby warned

the Los Altos School Board members

that their decision to bar Halloween

projects and celebrations based on an

erroneous interpretation of the First

Amendment would come back to haunt

them.

The letter, along with spirited protests

from an overflow crowd of costumed

elementary school students and their

parents at the School Board's October 17

meeting, convinced the Board members to

reverse their earlier decision to ban

Halloween costumes, art projects and

parties in the public schools.

The original decision was based on the

objections of some residents who claimed

that Halloween celebrations are pagan

religious observances. "The one published

court decision on Halloween in public

schools ruled that the classroom display of

its traditional symbols, such as witches,

cauldrons and brooms, does not establish

religion," Crosby wrote to Superintendent

Margaret Gratiot and the Board. The letter

also cited cases upholding the public

schools' inclusion of children's literature -

replete with the witches and wizards of

fairy tales - as a secular American folklore.

"Establishment clause decisions distin-

Continued on page 6

November-December 1995

Students Fight |

for Freedom of Expression

"Writing Your Rights"

- ACLU Student

Journalism Conference

Over 300 high school students from all over northern California came to the

student journalists conference to speak their mind on censorship, freedom of speech

and bias in the media. The conference was organized by the Howard A. Friedman

First Amendment Education Project. More photos and story on p. 6.

No. 5

School Board

Moves "Huck

Finn" from

Required

Reading List

ADOPTS

(GUIDELINES FOR

TEACHERS

esponding to some African Ameri-

R= parents' objections to the racial

epithets in Mark Twain's "The

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," the East

San Jose High School Board of Trustees

voted on October 26 to remove the book

from required reading lists.

The American literary classic will

remain on an optional reading list. While

teachers may still assign the book in class,

students wishing to do so will be permitted

to use the so-called adapted version by

John Wallace, in which material that

Wallace deems objectionable has been

Continued on page 6

AMERICAN

CIVIL

0 0x00A7

El B R Tl ES

G4Y ND PO

Sunday, December

UNION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Photo courtesy of JACL

During World War II, when over 120,000 Japanese

Americans were interned in desolate camps, ACLU-NC

Executive Director Ernest Besig challenged the intern-

ment order all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Photo: Imogen Cunningham

Fred Korematsu, former ACLU client.

Years of Keeping Freedom's Flame Alive

PROGRAM

6 pm Refreshments and No-Host Reception 5 pm

Sheraton Palace Hotel

2 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco

inear Monigomery Street BART)

ACLU NC Founder Ernest Besig |

with the Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award

for his years of dedication and hard work.

As ACLU NC Executive Director from 1936-1977

Ernest Besig fought against the infernment of

Japanese Americans, defended the San Francisca

General Stikers and supporied migrant

workers whe defied the anti-Okle laws.

The Award will be presented by

The Lola Hanzel Courageous Advocacy Award

will be presented to

Phillip Mehas, civil liberties activist.

4a Oa aa da

Linda Ellerbee, Journalist, Author

Tide ts: 20 per pars; #$10 lowincore

RrTidets: Gill 415/6 21-2493

2 aclu news

november-december 1995

`Silver Linings on the Sacramento Clouds

by Valerie Small Navarro

ACLU Legislative Advocate

liberties and civil liberties emanating

from the Legislature in 1995, the

ACLU Legislative Office savored impor-

tant victories. We were able to:

- defeat legislation that would elimi-

nate affirmative action;

- _ hold on to prenatal care for undoc-

umented women;

- stall the passage of prison

construction bonds;

- repeal the "smoke-a-joint-lose-

your-license"' bill; and

- maintain unanimous jury verdicts

in criminal trials.

Although these were not small efforts

in the current climate, keep in mind that we

will be fighting these battles again in the

upcoming year - it's never really over.

The election of a bare majority of

Republican members in the Assembly

coupled with the burgeoning strength of

the conservative wing of the party trans-

lates into a revolution of the right. What

this means on a day-to-day level is that

there is one more Republican than Democ-

rat in every Assembly Committee. In

addition, the Democrats have shifted to the

right in order to catch up.

[: the face of a frontal assault on civil

Speaking Up for Equal Opportunity

Working in a statewide coalition with

business associations (minority- and

women-owned), civil rights organizations,

and unions, the ACLU thwarted the first

round of 10 anti-affirmative action bills

sponsored by Assemblyman Bernie

Richter (R-Chico), and Senators Tom

Campbell (R-Palo Alto). and Quentin Kopp

(I-San Francisco).

The bills eliminating affirmative action

programs in state employment, higher

education, and contracting were defeated

in their first policy committees. However,

because conservative members of the

Republican Party now control the Assem-

bly, we can expect to see these measures

reconsidered and voted on early next year.

Simultaneously, we will be waging the

campaign against the ballot measure, the

deceptively named California Civil Rights

Initiative (CCRI). (See article page 5.)

Prenatal Care for All Women

Against all odds, ACLU lobbyists and

allies cajoled, badgered, and wore down

legislators to make sure that all women,

regardless of immigration status, continue to

receive prenatal care. This effort was the

quintessence of a well-oiled (though not

well-funded) grassroots lobbying campaign.

The ACLU working closely with a

panoply of other organizations - includ-

ing the American College of Obstetricians

and Gynecologists, immigrants' rights

groups, Planned Parenthood, children's

rights organizations and hospital associa-

tions - began to plan strategy nine

months before the battle broke out on the

Assembly floor. We _ contacted

constituents in key districts around the

state, to make sure that legislators knew

that voters cared deeply about this issue.

A clear message was sent: cutting

prenatal care for the undocumented shifts

three times the costs to county hospitals

and to the state in high-risk deliveries,

neonatal intensive care, and life-long

medical costs for infants born with birth

defects.

Ironically, we lost the measure in the

Senate - where the Democrats hold a

majority - but, we were able to win

repeatedly in the Assembly - where the

Republicans hold the majority.

In the Assembly, some moderate

Republicans chose not to vote - allowing

the measure to be defeated. They were

clearly persuaded by their constituents

and their Democratic colleagues, includ-

ing a group of women legislators who

rallied around the issue. Specifically,

Assemblymen Bruce McPherson (R-

Santa Cruz) and Jim Cunneen (R-San

Jose) should be commended for doing

right thing despite intense pressure from

the Governor and some of their conserva-

tive colleagues. We know we will have to

fight this fight again this year. ~

Prison Bonds Defeated

Governor Pete Wilson's efforts to win

funds for construction, either through

revenue bonds that would not go to a public

vote or through a more traditional ballot-

bound bond offering, failed. We strenu-

ously argued that the state must stop

- wasting scarce resources on the correc-

tions/industrial complex. Instead, the

government must pursue alternatives to

incarceration for the more than 50% of our

prison population incarcerated for non-

violent offenses. President Pro Tempore of

the Senate Tom Lockyer (D-Hayward)

Judge Dismisses SLAPP

Suit Filed Against

Scholars

ith the help of the ACLU-NC,

two scholars successfully argued

that scientific debate and criti-

cism should take place freely within the

academic community, unstifled by the fear

of retaliatory lawsuits.

On October 4, the Alameda Superior

Court dismissed a lawsuit against the

ACLU's clients, religious scholars Gordon

Melton and Dick Anthony. The case, filed

last year, raised defamation, fraud and

conspiracy claims against professional

organizations, the American Psychological

Association and the American Sociologi-

cal Association, as well as scientists and

scholars based on their criticism of the

plaintiffs theories. (Singer v. American

Psychological Association et al.)

The plaintiffs, Margaret Singer, a

psychologist, and Richard Ofshe, a sociol-

ogist, are well-known proponents of a

controversial position that some unconven-

tional religious groups engage in coercive

persuasion techniques. Anthony and

Melton, scholars who have extensively

researched American religious

movements, have criticized the theories of

Singer and Ofshe. They question whether

concepts of coercive recruitment, studied

in the context of captors and prisoners, may

be extended to voluntary associations such

as religious movements.

In June, 1994, Judge James Lambden

granted motions brought under Califor-

nia's new anti-SLAPP suit statute, which

requires dismissal of any case in which

liability is predicated on public statements

unless the judge finds the plaintiff has a

probability of success. Singer and Ofshe

appealed Judge Lambden's order.

However, they later argreed to dismiss the

case and pay the scholars' attorneys' fees.

Continued on page and

impeded the bond's progress by insisting

that he would not accept spiraling prison

construction costs without a serious look at

finding a way to ameliorate the growth in

the prison populations.

However, in a last-ditch effort, lock-

em-up legislators attached the prison bonds

to a school bond bill, in effect holding the

school money hostage by tying it to prison

construction. In the last hours of the

session, Democrats withdrew the bill, SB

96 (Senator LeRoy Greene, D-

Carmichael), from consideration.

Smoke a Joint Lose Your License

Sunsets

In what amounts to the civil libertarian

version of a miracle, California reduced the

punishment imposed on drug-related

offenses.

Last year the Legislature, as a means of

ensuring state eligibility for $100 million

in federal transportation funds, passed a

statute that mandates that anyone

convicted of any drug offense, including'

non-driving related offenses, would have

his or her driver's license suspended for six

months. This bill sunsets of its own accord

this year.

Taking advantage of a loophole discov-

ered in federal law that merely requires that

the state law be in effect on October 1,

1995, we were able to convince legislators

that California would remain eligible for

federal funds even if it allowed its current

law to sunset on December 1, 1995.

Anyone convicted of a drug-related

offense after that date will not have his or

her license suspended for six months.

However, next year we will surely

fight this battle again because eligibility

for future federal transportation funds

hinges on whether the Legislature passes

a comparable bill or an alternative

measure allowing the state to continue

receiving those funds without having to

enact the "smoke-a-joint-lose-your-

license" bill.

Unanimous Juries

Unanimous jury verdicts in criminal

trials withstood attack from both sides of

the political aisle: Assemblyman Richard

Rainey (R-Walnut Creek) and Senator

Charles Calderon (D-Whittier) both

carried constitutional amendments that

would have eliminated the need to

convince all twelve jurors of a defendant's

guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Elimina-

tion of unanimity would change the nature

of the jury deliberation process. It permits

the majority to ignore the arguments of the

minority once a majority is assured,

compromising the search for justice. We

defeated both bills in the policy commit-

tees in their houses of origin. Remarkably,

Senator Calderon's bill was unanimously

defeated by a bipartisan vote in the Senate

Criminal Procedure Committee.

We're proud of these slim victories

because we know that the assaults on core

civil liberties issues are going to continue

in the next session. We really need your

help. We already know that the political

agenda in Sacramento includes major

battles on affirmative action, criminal

Justice, police practices and welfare issues.

If you are interested in making your

voice heard in the state Legislature, please

contact Field Representative Lisa Maldon-

ado at 415/621-2493 to join our grassroots

lobby effort. You can be sure that we will

be in touch!

LATE NEWS:

As the ACLU News goes to press,

Governor Pete Wilson signed an anti-

loitering bill counter to ACLU lobbying

efforts. The bill, AB1035 (R. Katz, D-

Panorama City) in essence allows police to

arrest people on mere suspicion without

evidence of guilt. The new law, which goes

into effect on January 1, 1996, circumvents

the usual necessity of having to commit a

crime in order to be a criminal. If an officer

"thinks" individuals are going to sell drugs

or prostitute themselves, he/she may arrest

them and charge them with a misdemeanor

for possible illegal intentions.

Fundraiser Bryant

Awarded by Foundation

CLU-NC Development Director

A Cheri Bryant was honored by the

Horizons Foundation, the first and

oldest community-based lesbian and gay

grant making foundation in the nation, on

September 28 with its Community Builder

Award.

The award was presented to Bryant at

the Horizon Foundation's 15th anniversary

celebration, emceed by San Francisco

Supervisor Tom Ammiano, on September

28.

Bryant, a founding Board member of

the Foundation, has served as a fundraiser

for Advocates for Women, the Oakland

Symphony and Trust for Public Land, as

well as a fundraising consultant/ She

joined the ACLU-NC staff as Develop-

ment Director in 1990.

Horizons Executive Director Doug

Braley said that Bryant, who was honored

along with business leader and philan-

thropist Mark Leno, said that the two were

being honored for using "their energy,

enthusiasm and expertise - as well as

their direct donations - to help their

lesbian and gay community, and by exten-

sion, the entire Bay Area."

aclu news

november--december 1995

Fighting The Politics of Division

1995 ACLU-NC Activist Conference

by Maria Archuleta

ffirmative action is a continu-

ing and still needed effort to

give every American a fair

chance," said ACLU Executive Director

Ira Glasser, kicking off the ACLU-NC's

1995 activist conference "Fighting the

Politics of Division." Over 150 civil liber-

ties advocates met September 16 at

Stanford University to discuss critical

issues including affirmative action, the

religious right, membership development

and the information superhighway.

Glasser's inspiring keynote address

which focused on the pressing issue of

affirmative action, began the day of infor-

mative workshops and informal network-

ing. He encouraged the group to actively

convince others of affirmative action's

great importance and warned of the diffi-

culties in accomplishing this task in

today's exclusionary climate: "The funda-

mental thing to face is the reaction to turn

away from the spirit of inclusion," Glasser

said.

Participants in the workshop, "Affirm-

ing Justice: The Fight for Affirmative

Action" chaired by Dorothy Ehrlich,

ACLU-NC Executive Director, took up

Glasser's challenge. Panelist Cynthia

Carey-Grant of Californians for Justice

highlighted the great gains that women,

more than any other group, have made in

the workforce because of affirmative

action, and urged women not to forget their

personal stake in its preservation. "I am

literally involved in this because my life

depends on it," said Carey-Grant.

Jan Adams, also of Californians for

Justice, stressed that in order to defeat the

cynically named California Civil Rights

Initiative (CCRI), the proposed November

1996 ballot measure currently circulating

which calls for the eradication of affirma-

tive action in California, it is crucial to

_increase the participation of low-income

and young voters. To accomplish this,

Californians for Justice

{

: "ve piree ne

yen n the

ACLU we activist to 30"

en cous?

censorship on the internet.

or Lee otect affir

ACLU-NC staff attorney Ann Brick (1.) and Chapter activists at a workshop on

"Affirmative action is a continuing and

still needed effort to give every

American a fair chance..."

- IRA GLASSER

ACLU ExecuTive DIRECTOR

ACLU Executive Director Ira Glasser addressed the opening plenary. At right is

new ACLU Chair Dick Grosboll.

aims to train thousands to do electorate

work by election time.

At the workshop on "Taking Care of

Business: Chapter Board Development and

Fundraising," Membership Coordinator

Sandy Holmes and Sonoma County

Chapter leaders Steven Thornton and

Judith Volkart shared experi-

ences in chapter

: .) an

yich (c) tive

Conference photos by

Robert Stern

development. The Sonoma activists hold

an Annual Dinner with a keynote speaker

which attracts scores of potential news

members and media attention. Holmes

commended the

Sonoma Chapter for recruiting 71 new

members this fiscal year, more than any

other ACLU-NC chapter. "You can start

small, you can start simple, you can start

with whatever resources you have,"

encouraged Holmes.

Jerry Sloan of Project Tocsin, Phillip

Mehas of the San Francisco ACLU chapter

and Daniel Junas an Opposition

Researcher led a roundtable discussion

"Civil Wrongs: Organizing Against the

Radical Right in Your Community,"

focusing on prayer in schools, the attempt

to blur the lines between church and state,

and the religious right's attack on margin-

alized groups.

Conference participants also embarked

on an exciting voyage to cyberspace.

ACLU-NC Information Systems Manager

Tara Henry hosted an open house in

"Constitution Hall," the ACLU America

On Line site. In a hands-on learning

session, visitors navigated through

unfamiliar, electronic territory. Comput-

ers were available for conference partici-

pants to try out the site during breaks in the

program. :

They also discovered that free speech

in this new land of information is under

attack. At a roundtable discussion,

"Censorship on the Internet" ACLU-NC

Staff Attorney Ann Brick and National

ACLU Media Director Phil Gutis

discussed the complexities of the internet

obscenity prosecution as definitions of

"obscenity" vary per location while access

to the material is universal.

Christopher Kryzan of !OutProud!

highlighted parental censorship of the

internet. He explained that software .

designed to censor the internet for the

benefit of children can often stifle more

than it protects. "[On the Internet] you can

talk in little islands of safety, noted Kryzan.

"A gay teenager often can't talk to Mom

and Dad about homosexuality, the internet

may be the only outlet he or she has."

The ACLU's own internet outlet also

proved to be controversial. In the conclud-

ing plenary, "The State and the Nation:

Legislative Activism on the Information

Superhighway," several members objected

to the ACLU choice of America On Line,

an organization which openly censors

material. In response, Gutis described how

the company had agreed to allow the

ACLU on-line site to be censorship free, "T

don't think America On Line has bought us

out, rather, we have carved a free speech

zone on America On Line," Gutis

explained.

Valerie Small Navarro, ACLU-NC

Legislative Advocate, and Les Earnest of

the ACLU Mid-Peninsula Chapter, former

Chair of the Computer Science Depart-

ment at Stanford, suggested on-line

newsgroups and discussion lists as an

effective means to exchange information

and enhance our grassroots

lobbying effectiveness.

After a full day of civil liberty

activism, a little dessert was definitely in

order. Bringing the conference to a close,

the Bill of Rights Campaign Committee

hosted the Guardian of Liberty reception

in the Citrus Courtyard. Over cake, Bill of

Rights Campaign Committee Chair

Marlene De Lancie launched the annual

drive to support the ACLU's legal and

public education programs and encour-

aged chapter members to become involved

in the fundraising process.

The day-long event was organized by

the Conference Committee, headed by

Field Committee Chair Michele Welsh,

ACLU-NC Field Representative Lisa

Maldonado and Program Secretary

Jennifer Green. The Mid-Peninsula

Chapter hosted the Welcome Breakfast;

and the Committee and staff were assisted

by volunteers Molly Stolmack, Judith

Volkhart, Steven Thornton, Rini

Chakraborty, Yi Yi Chang, and Preetmo-

han Sabharwal. @

4 aclu news

november-december [995

ACLU-NC Board of Directors Election

VOTING INFORMATION

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO VOTE?

he by-laws of the ACLU of

Northern California call for the

at-large Directors of the Board to

be elected by the general membership.

The general membership are those

members in good standing who have

joined or renewed their membership

within the last twelve months.

The label affixed to this issue of the

ACLU News indicates on the top line the

year and month when your membership

expires.

If you are not eligible to vote, you

may choose to renew your membership,

and thereby resume your membership in

good standing, at the same time you

submit your ballot.

If you share a joint membership,

each individual is entitled to vote

separately - two spaces are provided on

the ballot.

How are candidates nominated

to run for the Board of Directors?

The ACLU-NC by-laws permit two

methods of nomination. Candidates

may be nominated by the current Board

of Directors after consideration of the

Nominating Committee's recommen-

dations. Candidates also may be

nominated by petition bearing the

signatures of at least fifteen ACLU-NC

members in good standing.

Ballot Instructions

Candidates are listed on these pages

in alphabetical order. After marking your

ballot, clip it and enclose the ballot and

your address label from this issue of the

ACLU News in an envelope. Your

address label must be included to ensure

voter eligibility. Address the envelope to:

Elections Committee

ACLU of Northern California

1663 Mission Street, Suite 460

San Francisco, CA 94103

If you have a joint membership, you

may use both of the columns provided,

and each of the members may vote

separately.

If you wish to ensure the confiden-

tiality of your ballot, insert your ballot in

a double envelope with the special

mailing label in the outer one. The

envelopes will be separated before the

counting of the ballots.

Ballots must be returned to the

ACLU by noon on December 15, 1995.

There are ten candidates running to fill

ten vacancies on the Board of Directors.

You may vote for up to ten candidates.

For your consideration, we are

publishing brief statements submitted by

the candidates for election to the Board

of Directors. Candidates are listed in

alphabetical order. and

MARSHA BERZON

I am delighted to have been asked to

serve on the ACLU Board once again. I

was on the Board from 1985-1991, and

served as Vice President and Chair of the

Legal Committee for the last two of those

years. Additionally, I was on the Legal

Committee even before I was a member of

the Board, and have served on several Ad

Hoc Committees over the years to develop

ACLU policy on various issues. Finally, I

have served both as a volunteer attorney

and as attorney for the ACLU-NC as part -

of a coalition of various organizations, on

at least one occasion - a challenge to an

initiative that would have called for a

convention to amend the Federal Constitu-

tion.

In my other life I am a union labor,

constitutional and employment discrimina-

tion lawyer. I look forward to the opportu-

nity to serve on the Board.

Nominated by: Board of Directors

Incumbent: No

MILTON Estes, M.D.

I believe that the ACLU is the most

important membership organization in the

United States. Particularly at this moment

in our history when a multiplicity of forces

are arrayed against the rights of minorities,

the economically disadvantaged, the

oppressed and indeed the civil liberties and

civil rights of us all. It has never been more

important that the work of this organization

be vigorously pursued. As someone who

has devoted the past fourteen years of my

life to this end, I intend if reelected to

continue to support the Union in any way I

can.

As the immediate past chair of North-

ern California for the past four years, as

our current national board representative,

as a member and past Chair of the Devel-

opment Committee and numerous other

committees, I believe I have the skills and

resources necessary to help to continue to

lead this organization.

As an openly gay member of the Board

and as an HIV physician, | also bring to the

Board the needed perspective and concerns

of the lesbian and gay community.

Nominated by: Board of Directors

Incumbent: Yes

WARREN GEORGE

I am honored to have been nominated

to serve on the Board of Directors of the

ACLU-NC.

I am a partner at McCutchen, Doyle,

Brown and Enersen. For the past decade, I

have been representing prisoners in efforts

to secure adequate medical and psychiatric

care, to end discrimination against prison-

ers with HIV disease, to obtain equal rights

for prisoners with disabilities, and to end

the use of the gas chamber in California.

Much of this litigation has been done in

cooperation with the ACLU.

Our basic civil rights are coming under

increasing attack. The ACLU's efforts to

protect those rights and to educate people

about their importance are more essential

than ever. I look forward to working with

the Board as it meets these challenges.

Nominated by: Board of Directors

Incumbent: No

Dick GROSBOLL

Having been elected Chair of the Board

in September, I am very excited about

working with my fellow Board members

and our excellent staff for another term. _

I am proud of the very important work

of the ACLU-NC. We continue to be at the

forefront of the most important civil liber-

ties and civil rights struggles - our

ongoing support of reproductive freedom,

protecting the rights of immigrants (e.g.,

our strong opposition to Proposition 187),

preserving valuable affirmative action

programs, challenging the numerous

threats to religious freedom, fighting

discrimination against people of color,

gays and lesbians and others, and expand-

ing and supporting freedom of expression,

among many other areas. I very much

want to be a part of this critical work by

serving another term. I ask for your vote.

Nominated by: Board of Directors

Incumbent: Yes .

I am honored to receive the Board's

nomination for a three-year term. As a

civil rights attorney and member of the

disability community, I have sought to

include a disability rights perspective in

discussions of civil rights issues at Board

meetings, on the Legislative Committee

and as a delegate to the ACLU Biennial

Conference.

I respect and support the ACLU-NC's

demonstrated philosophy of strength in

diversity evident in its leadership role in

fighting attacks on affirmative action.

I recently joined activists at the NGO

Forum in China where privacy violations

were state-sanctioned. The experience

underscored my eagerness to continue

working with the ACLU in its strong

defense of all our rights, particularly the

most disenfranchised among us.

Nominated by: Board of Directors

Incumbent: Yes

As an attorney at the Homeless

Advocacy Project, I am acutely aware of

the consequences of the War on the Poor,

the erosion of civil liberties, and our

country's determination to find scapegoats

for its problems.

The ACLU plays a vital role in defend-

ing the rights of society's most vulnerable

people, and it has been an honor to serve on

the Board. I have served as a liaison to the

disability rights and homeless communi-

ties and have been especially proud of the

ACLU's involvement with the Matrix

lawsuit, and its work to uphold

immigrant 's; rights and affirmative action.

I bring to the Board an ongoing

commitment to social justice. In addition

to my present work advocating for

homeless people with disabilities, my

background includes activism for

gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender rights

and international civil rights.

The ACLU of Northern California is an

amazing organization. I look forward to

continuing and expanding my work on the

Board. :

Nominated by: Board of Directors

Incumbent: Yes

Dr. CARLOS MUNOZ, JR.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to

be a candidate for the ACLU-NC Board of

Directors. I have been a card-carrying

member of the ACLU since I was a politi-

cal prisoner back in 1968. I and 12 other

aclu news

november--december 1995

Chicano Movement activists were indicted

for conspiracy "`to disrupt the educational

system of the City of Los Angeles." We

faced a maximum 66-year prison term for

our "crime" of organizing non-violent high

school student strikes against racism in the

barrio schools of East L.A. I was fortunate

to have an attorney from the ACLU who, in

concert with other civil rights lawyers, was

able to free us on the basis of the freedom

of speech guaranteed in the First Amend-

ment to the U.S. Constitution. My service

on the Board of Directors is part of my pay

back for the role the ACLU played in my

freedom.

I am currently a full professor in the

Department of Ethnic Studies at the

University of California at Berkeley.

We are living in critical times and we

need, more than ever, to preserve civil

liberties as we continue to struggle for

social justice and human rights. Without

freedom of speech, we cannot build a

multiracial democracy.

Nominated by: Board of Directors

Incumbent: No

NANcY S. PEMBERTON

- As past chairperson, current treasurer

and long-time member of the Northern

California affiliate Board, I am deeply

troubled by today's political trends. We

face an almost unprecedented assault on

civil liberties and civil rights. Now, to be

successful, the affiliate needs to carefully

select and articulate priorities. The Board

of Directors should provide leadership and

support to the staff in setting an agenda and

finding the financial wherewithal to carry

out the agenda. This means a commitment

not only to the issues but to raising funds. I

have demonstrated my commitment to the

ACLU-NC by participating on the Legisla-

tive, Budget Management and Executive

Committees and by undertaking extensive

fundraising. If re-elected, I will continue to

work with you to keep civil liberties alive.

Nominated by: Board of Directors

Incumbent: Yes

JOHN SCHWEIZER

As a current member of the Board's

Development and Budget Committees, I

am committed to expanding the ACLU's

financial and technology resources.

I work in the area of consumer

advocacy, fighting discrimination in the

marketplace. My work life focuses specifi-

cally on emerging technologies and their

potential impact on privacy and free speech

rights, education and the potential for

increasing participation in our democracy.

I am also actively involved in the fight for

civil rights for gay people and those with

disabilities.

Both my professional work and my

personal values cause me to cherish the

ACLU. I am very proud of its enormous

accomplishments, and would be honored

to be part of those to come.

Nominated by: Board of Directors

Incumbent: Yes

BEVERLY TUCKE

I have been Chief Counsel of the

California Teachers Association since

August 1988. I previously served as

Deputy Attorney General in the civil rights

enforcement section of the California

Attorney General's Office and as Associ-

ate General Counsel of the United Auto

Workers. My particular interests are civil

rights and education issues including

student and teacher free speech issues. As

a longtime supporter of human and civil

rights, I am excited about being nominated

to once again serve as a member of the

ACLU-NC Board of Directors. During my

former board terms I served as chair of the

Board Nominating and Legislative Policy

Committees.

Nominated by: Board of Directors

Incumbent: Yes

BALLOT |

Marsha Berzon

Milton Estes, M.D.

Dick Grosboll

eo ae Oo

J Warren George

Jennifer Kern

Please vote in the squares provided. You may vote for up to ten

candidates. Joint members use both squares.

Please clip and send to ACLU-NC Board Elections, 1663 Mission

Street, Suite 460, San Francisco, CA 94103.

O Nancy Pemberton

J John Schweizer

eo) el) Se)

O Beverly Tucker

Court Rejects Wilson

Attempt to End

Affirmative Action

Campaign to Defeat Initiative Begins

ealing a setback to Governor Pete

LD) wiser: attempt to eliminate

affirmative action in five state

agencies, the California Court of Appeal

on October 24 denied the Governor's

petition for a writ of mandate in Wilson v.

State Personnel Board.

Wilson's failed lawsuit sought to

overturn five laws passed in the 1970s and

80s governing affirmative action policies

in employment and contracting in state

agencies ranging from the community

college system to the state lottery and

CalTrans.

The ACLU affiliates of Northern and

Southern California had joined with other

civil rights organizations to oppose

Wilson's lawsuit on behalf of the people

most affected - women and minority state

employees and businesses. This legal

intervention was necessary because from

the time the Governor filed suit on August

10, not a single agency official moved to

defend the statutes they had sworn to

enforce. None of them even filed a single

paper in the case. In addition, Attorney

General Dan Lungren announced that he

would not represent the named agencies in

the legal action. ;

The ACLU charged that the Gover-

nor's action was in clear violation of his

authority under the California Constitution

and should be dismissed by the court. "The

petitioner is not a proper petitioner, the

respondents are not proper respondents and

the Court of Appeal is an improper forum,"

the August 15 brief stated.

According to ACLU-NC staff attorney

Ed Chen, "The Governor's action is a

direct attack on women and minority

workers and businesses - all at taxpayers'

expense. The Governor cannot undermine

the laws which he has sworn to uphold."

The friends of the court brief was filed

by the ACLU of Northern and Southern

California, the Lawyers' Committee for

Civil Rights, the Mexican American Legal

Defense and Education Fund, and other

public interest law groups on behalf of over

a dozen women and minority organizations

of workers and contractors.

_ For months prior to the suit, coincident

with his now-abandoned presidential

campaign, Wilson had been waging a

public battle against affirmative action,

making it a central plank of his campaign ~

platform. Earlier in the year, he issued an

executive order designed to ban all state

affirmative action programs that were not

protected by state law. In July, steady

pressure from the Governor paid off as the

University of California Regents voted to

dismantle affirmative action throughout

the U.C. system.

"Tf the court had agreed with Wilson, it

would have been another step back for

affirmative action," said Chen.

In previous years, Wilson had

supported affirmative action programs. He

signed funding for such programs each

year as Governor.

_ "This lawsuit was a political stunt to

get media attention for Pete Wilson's now-

deceased presidential campaign...nothing

more," said Michael Harris of the

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.

"The Governor's position was totally

unsupported by the law."

Campaign Begins to Oppose Initiative

Within hours of the announcement by

anti-affirmative action forces that they

were launching their signature-gathering

campaign to place their initiative on the

ballot, the ACLU joined with organiza-

tions across the state to defeat the measure.

At simultaneous news conferences in

Los Angeles and San Francisco on

September 28, the ACLU announced the

formation of a coalition to opposed the

proposed ballot measure.

At Los Angeles City Hall, where

opponents of affirmative action announced

the official beginning of their drive to

gather more than 800,000 signatures to

qualify their initiative, deceptively titled

the "California Civil Rights Initiative"

_(CCRI), ACLU-SC activists staged a

colorful leafleting demonstration on the

plaza outside the Hall of Administration.

Leaflets proclaiming "Don't Be Fooled!

Continued on page 8

aclu news

november-december 1995

HLS. Journalists

Question Censorship,

Bias in the Media

an school newspapers criticize

e school officials? How should a

high school editor deal with articles

containing sexual innuendo or indecent

language? Are underground papers still

viable? These questions were addressed

by 300 high school journalists at "Writing

Your Rights," the ACLU-sponsored

conference for high school journalists on

Wednesday, October 12 on the U.C.

Berkeley campus.

The student journalists had a chance to

explore these issues with reporters

Chauncy Bailey from the Oakland

Tribune, Joe Rodriguez of the San Jose

Mercury, Kevin Weston of Pacific News

Service, and Daniel Vasquez of the

Fremont Argus, as well as Helen Zia of

Ms. magazine, KMEL DJ Davey D., and

media advocates Felix Gutierrez of the

Freedom Forum and Lisa Chung of the

Asian American Journalists Association.

The plenary sessions and workshops

were led by students from Albany High

School, Oakland Technical High School,

Live Oak High School in San Jose, Vallejo

Senior High School, and other local

schools. Over 20 high schools in northern

California - from Vacaville to Half Moon

Bay - were represented at the conference.

The conference was organized by the

newly appointed Director of the Howard

A. Friedman First Amendment Project

Nancy Otto, formerly ACLU-NC Field

Representative, and sponsored by the

Student Advisory Committee of the Fried-

man Project and the ACLU. UC Berkeley

Student Caucus. @

Teachers Talk on

First Amendment

and Sex Harassment

First Amendment Education Project

hosted training sessions for more than

60 high school teachers on sexual harass-

ment and the First Amendment in San

Francisco, Fresno, Oakland, and Santa

Cruz. "Our goal was to help teachers under-

stand what behaviors and actions constitute

sexual harassment and how to ensure that

attempts to classify behavior as sexually

harassing are not in fact protected expres-

sion," explained Project Director Nancy

I: September, the Howard A. Friedman

Otto. "We also wanted to give them infor-

mation on counseling students who have

been sexually harassed by their peers."

The Project hosts an annual training

session for high school teachers on various

aspects of the First Amendment which

intersect with educational life. If you are a

teacher and interested in learning more

about the Project, please contact: Nancy

Otto, Director, Howard A. Friedman First

Amendment Education Project, ACLU-

NC at 415/621-2493. @

Felix Gutierrez of Freedom Forum (1. to r.) with Oakland Tribune reporter

Union Maid

Chauncey Bailey and Ms. magazine editor Helen Zia spoke of how their life experi-

ences gave them a unique perspective on racial and sexual bias in the media.

Huck Finn oe

Continued from page 1

deleted. As has always been the case,

students may also request an alternative

book assignment.

The vote followed a public hearing

during which the African American

Parents' Group argued that the racism

found in "Huckleberry Finn" demeaned

students thereby stifling the learning

process; others, that the removal of the

book from the required list hid reality from

the students and would invite similar

controversy about other books.

The Board rejected an October 18

recommendation of a 12-member advisory

panel of teachers, parents, students and

administrators which concluded that the

book should be retained on the required

reading list. The Board did adopt the

panel's recommendation that because

"some students may be adversely affected"

by the harsh language of the novel, teacher

training, student input and other measures

for teaching literature in a culturally sensi-

tive way must be implemented.

Before the advisory committee made

its decision, ACLU-NC Staff Counsel Ann

Brick and ACLU-NC Executive Director

Dorothy Ehrlich wrote a letter to the

Student Journalist Wins Fight |

over Gay Center Ad

en the Billy DeFrank Lesbian

and Gay Community Center

submitted an ad to San Jose's

Leigh High School's newspaper The

Eleight, the paper's editors routinely

accepted it for publication in the

ACLU-NC staff attorney Ann Brick

wrote to Campbell Union High School

District Superintendent Bruce Hauger,

asking the school administration to reverse

its decision. Brick reminded him that

spring issue.

The 14-year old Community

Center, which has won praise from

the United Way and Mayor Susan

Hammer, uses direct advertising in

high school papers in Santa Clara

County to let students know about the

resources the Center provides teens.

At the time it submitted its ad to The

Eleight, the Center had already adver-

tised in 28 of the 33 public high

schools in Santa Clara County.

Nevertheless, the Leigh High

School principal decided that the ad

was too controversial and would not

allow The Eleight to run the ad.

Student journalist Heather Rath

turned to the ACLU-NC for help.

"High school is the time when

people are dealing with their sexual-

ity,' said Rath, a 17-year old junior. "I

know people who are gay and who are

questioning their sexuality. I'm not

gay, but I'm doing this because it's

not right for a community center to be

censored."

"T don't know what the school is doing

for gay students. They're not doing anything

if they're censoring this ad," Rath said.

California Education Code Sections 48907

and 48950 "vest in the student editors the

authority to determine the content of their

publications and explicitly prohibit the

administration' s attempt to censor this ad."

SOMTACT JON JOHNSTON

YOUTR COORDINATOR

Because the District persisted in refusing

to allow the ad, the issue came before the

District's Board of Trustees public

meeting in May.

There, a large and diverse group of

speakers from the lesbian and gay

community impressed upon the Board

the value and the necessity of informing

students about the existence of

programs for lesbian, gay, bisexual and

questioning teens. In addition, high

school students, a journalism teacher, a

representative of the CTA and ACLU

attorney Brick gave the Board a lesson

about the Education Code's guarantee

to students of freedom of the press.

After hearing the testimony, the

Board passed a resolution reaffirming

the right of the student journalists to

determine for themselves which ads

they will or will not run.

"It was gratifying that the Board

understood the spirit of the Education

Code and left the decision up to the

students. This could not have

happened if Heather had not been so

tenacious and committed to standing

up for freedom of the student press,"

said Brick.

Ralph Serpe, Program Director of

the DeFrank Center, also had praise for

Rath. "It was important for us that a

student like Heather came forward. The

DeFrank Center did not want to approach

the school and put up fight as an outsider

panel's chair, Assistant Superintendent

Lois Freeman calling the proposed

removal of the literary classic "unwise and

short-sighted." The ACLU-NC also noted,

however, that "it is the obligation of the

District to ensure that the use of this book

does not become a vehicle for embarrass-

ing students or enforcing racial stereotypes

or prejudices."

Brick and Ehrlich wrote another letter

to East Side Union High School President

J. Manuel Herrera, prior to the School

Board's meeting, urging the Board to

adopt the advisory panel's recommenda-

tions and raising objections to the proposal

to excise the text of words that some

parents find offensive.

Most emphatically, the letter warned of

the dangers inherent in politicized decision

making: "When school boards attempt to

second guess the considered judgements of

their professional educators, they open the

door to intervention from countless groups

and organizations, each with its own

particular agenda. In the end, school

curriculum becomes a tug of war among

ideological opponents instead of a

carefully crafted program designed to

educate our youth."

- we needed someone to understand the

importance of this issue. She understood

and took this issue as her own. She person-

alized it for not only her administration but

also the other students - and was able to

challenge her administration's censorship

of this information."

Serpe noted that the ads are not only

important in reducing the isolation of

lesbian and gay youth by providing

support groups where they can meet others

their own age in a safe environment, but it

also "sends an important message to

straight kids that there are lesbian and gay

kids in their high school."

After the meeting, The Eleight

contracted to run the ad three times - in

the two final issues of the semester and in

the first issue of the new school year in

September.

Halloween...

Continued from page 1

guish between substance and shadow. The.

ghosts and goblins of Halloween come

within the realm of shadow," Crosby

wrote.

Crosby was pleased with the Board's

reversal: "We appreciate the Board's

determination to prevent officially-

In collections

ACLU-NC News: 1995

Details

Title: vol. 59, no. 5 (December, 1995)
Creator: American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
Date: 1995 November-December
Identifier: ACLUN_0600
Genre: newspapers
Physical description: 40.5 x 28 cm
Publisher: San Francisco (Calif.): American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
Preferred citation: ACLU of Northern California News vol. 59, no. 5, 1995 November-December; PER ACLUN; California Historical Society.
Rights statement: In Copyright
Publication rights: Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, was not transferred to the California Historical Society (CHS). Permission for reproduction or publication of materials in this collection beyond that allowed by fair use must be secured from the copyright holder.
Topical subject(s): Sex workers
Freedom of religion
Freedom of expression
Criminal justice
Church and state
Affirmative action
HIV/AIDS
LGBTQ rights
Police practices
Immigrant rights
Japanese Americans--Incarceration, 1942-1945
Named subject(s): Berzon, Marsha
Brick, Ann
Crosby, Margaret
Ehrlich, Dorothy
Estes, Milton
Glasser, Ira
Grosboll, Richard
Korematsu, Fred
Lungren, Dan
Maldonado, Lisa
Navarro, Valerie Small
Pemberton, Nancy
Ripston, Ramona
Strauss, Fran
Tucker, Beverly
Warner, Douglas
Wilson, Pete
California Teachers Association
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
Geographical subject(s): Sacramento (Calif.)
Monterey (Calif.)
Santa Rosa (Calif.)
Monterey County (Calif.)
Vacaville (Calif.)
Fresno (Calif.)
Oakland (Calif.)
Berkeley (Calif.)
Collection identifier: PER ACLUN