[aha] Fwd: Attack on Academic Freedom: is the persecution of Dominguez really about the TBTool?

[Dedalus]

Attack on Academic Freedom: is the persecution of Dominguez really about
the TBTool?

 From Brett stalbaum.

The following is summarized from the UCSD Faculty Coalition letter sent
to Senior Vice-Chancellor Acadamic Affairs Paul Drake on April 5th 2010.
(Full letter reposted at http://www.walkingtools.net/?p=437) I will
summarize some key information from the letter in bullets, with
contextual information noted. Letters of support requested (see below.)

   • As the letter makes clear, professor Dominguez is being charged
based on his celebrated artistic practice.
   • The charges stem from a Virtual Sit-in against www.ucop.edu on
March 4th, a day of protest against fee increases at the University of
California.
   • Dominguez’s tenure at UCSD is threatened, and the administration
(Drake’s office) has threatened criminal charges based on a prima facie
misrepresentation that the Virtual Sit-in was a botnet. (The former
being legal, the latter being criminal.)
   • The nature of Dominguez’s art practice is known to Drake’s office.
In fact, the AVCSS received and approved a promotion file in 2009 that
describes the nature of the research. Dominguez was granted tenure based
on that file.
   • Dominguez has held virtual Sit-ins against UCOP in the past, with
no repercussions. This is highly indicative that the current actions
against Dominguez are not motivated by the Virtual Sit-in, but possibly
by other research being carried out by Dominguez and his colleagues.
Note: I work with Ricardo on the Transborder Immigrant Tool Project –
which is in fact one project supported by the UCSD supported
walkingtools.net project. The research team also includes Amy Carrol and
Micha Cardenas.
   • After a spate of recent hate-crimes on campus, including the
hanging of a noose in the Geisel Library at UCSD, no criminal charges
were brought.
   • The B.A.N.G. lab website was temporarily shut down on March 4th
for exercising free speech, yet the Koala (a publication and website at
UCSD with a history of racist provocations) is deemed by Chancellor Fox
to be protected free speech.
Just to add a little more information for the concerned public, a UCSD
auditors’ investigation of the Transborder Immigrant Tool project began
well before the March 4th events, triggered by a complaint that remains
confidential. Since that time, we have been informed by the auditors
that the investigation has been expanded due to a letter from US
Congress members Duncan Hunter, Brian Bilbray, and Darrell Issa. The
possibility that the persecution of professor Dominguez is related to
TBT or other research is therefore highly plausible.

I also want to make it very clear, I was involved in the March 4th
virtual sit-in as a participant. Yet no administrative charges have been
brought forth against me, and I have not been visited by detectives.

The full letter (reposted) can be read at:
http://www.walkingtools.net/?p=437

General letters of support for professor Dominguez can be emailed to:

chancellor at ucsd.edu, Lawrence.Pitts at ucop.ed, abellis at ucsd.edu,
shburke at ucsd.edu, pdrake at ucsd.edu, SVCAA at ucsd.edu, slerer at ucsd.edu,
klarsen at ucsd.edu, arosen at ucsd.edu, gkester at ucsd.edu,
rrdominguez at ucsd.edu, stalbaum at ucsd.edu

These are:

Mary Anne Fox, Chancellor, (858) 534-3135, chancellor at ucsd.edu

Lawrence Pitts, Provost of the UC,  Lawrence.Pitts at ucop.edu

Arthur Ellis, Vice Chancellor for Research, abellis at ucsd.edu

Stephanie Burke, Assistant Vice Chancellor, (858) 534-3913,
shburke at ucsd.edu

Paul Drake, Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, 858.534.3132,
pdrake at ucsd.edu and SVCAA at ucsd.edu

Seth Leher, Dean, Division of Arts and Humanities, UCSD, slerer at ucsd.edu

Kristina Larson, klarsen at ucsd.edu

Amy Rosen, arosen at ucsd.edu

Grant Kester, Chair, Department of Visual Arts, gkester at ucsd.edu

Ricardo Dominguez, Associate Professor, Department of Visual Arts, UCSD,
rrdominguez at ucsd.edu

Myself

Sites:

http://bang.calit2.net/

http://bang.calit2.net/xborder/

Brett Stalbaum
Lecturer with Security of Employment
Department of Visual Arts
University of California San Diego

-- 
"Ci sono cretini che hanno visto la Madonna e ci sono cretini che non
hanno visto la Madonna.
Io sono un cretino che la Madonna non l'ha vista mai.
Tutto consiste in questo, vedere la Madonna o non vederla."

email: dedalus at autistici.org
http://www.lesliensinvisibles.org
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