ACLU of C (American Civil Liberties Union of the University of Chicago)

We are the undergraduate chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Contacts: Andrew Hammond, Robin Scheffler , Piotr Korzynski

Meetings: Thursdays, 8:30PM, Bartlett Lounge (General and administrative meetings are held every other week - all meetings are open to all members.)

Listhost: aclu@listhost.uchicago.edu

Website: aclu.uchicago.edu

Purpose: Educate students and community about civil liberties and human rights identified as of concern

Goals: - Short-term -
• Same-sex marriage in Chicago, Illinois lobbying
• Panel discussions: Guantanamo Bay, electronic voting
• Petitions: Patriot Act, same-sex marriage, drug war
• Voter registration
-Long-term -
• Educate high school/middle school students about police brutality and racial profiling: reporting and avoidance
• Lobby City, State, and County officials on issues that impact Hyde Park and surrounding areas

Resources: ACLU-IL, Public defender

Frustrations: Coordination with parent organization, funding, student participation

Current Projects (11/19/04):

            ONGOING

• C.O.P.S.: Outreach to Southside students to teach them how to positively interact with police officers while still asserting their rights.

            ONE-TIME

• Drug Policy Conference: A discussion of how the War on Terror has usurped many of the human rights issues that were once discussed in the context of the War on Drugs. Also, discussion of the things that are still impacted by the War on Drugs.
• Supreme Court Panel:  A lecture/discussion of the future of the Court, both in terms of possible nominees and the kinds of issues that will and will not receive attention in the next 4 years.

Dream Projects (11/19/04):

-     The Drug Policy Conference is our Dream Project. Hopefully we can make it reality.

-     Once it’s polished, we’d also like to distribute the COPS program as a toolkit for groups and organizations around the country.  I think we’d like to start a similar program dealing with LGBTQ rights.

Resources Needed (11/19/04):

            FOR CURRENT PROJECTS

- Money is a continual need for us, but mostly it’s involvement by other members.  For the COPS program, we’re getting a video made, but I think we’ve gotten the resources for that already.

            FOR DREAM PROJECTS

- For our dream projects: For the Drug Policy Conference we basically need Money, Money, Money, and contacts with incredible speakers.  There will be more concerns down the line.  For the future of COPS, it’s just a matter of making the time.