AYA - Assembly

Assembly LX: Free Speech, Free Expression and Free Inquiry at Yale
Friday, April 26 through Saturday, April 27, 2002

Registration
Delegates may register for Assembly LX beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Rose Alumni House at 232 York Street.

Introduction to Assembly LX: Free Speech, Free Expression and Free Inquiry at Yale
10 – 11 a.m.

Delegates will convene for a short report from the AYA Board of Governors. Immediately following the report, AYA Chair Maureen O. Doran ’71 MSN will introduce the twelve candidates standing for election for the AYA Board of Governors. You will find biographical information for each of the candidates on the ballot which you will receive when you register for the Assembly.

On the ballot will be the following twelve candidates (listed with delegate constituencies):

Following the candidate introductions, Assembly Chair Mark Greenwold ’66 will provide an overview of the Assembly.

Yale Clubs Committee Meeting
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

All delegates should attend the Club Committee session which will include a discussion of the ways in which the AYA can help Yale Clubs and Associations. Highly successful club programs and events will be discussed. Club, Class, G&P and At -Large Delegates should all enjoy and benefit from the session, which will include an opportunity for comments and questions, as well as breakout sessions that will examine club issues based on the size and activity level of your home club.

Information Session Luncheon
12:30 – 2 p.m.

Delegates will be assigned to one of nine lunches at sites around campus where University administrators will host and provide an informal opportunity to learn about aspects of the University’s operation. The format includes brief comments by the administrators as well as informal discussion with administrators and their top department staff over lunch.

First Assembly Session
Of Values and Priorities: History and Practice of Free Speech at Yale
2:30 – 4 p.m.

The Assembly will open with a plenary featuring two distinguished members of the Yale community, Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead ’68, ’72 PhD, the A. Bartlett Giamatti Professor of English, and Gaddis Smith ’54 ’61 PhD, Professor Emeritus of History. Dean Brodhead will discuss the unique role that free speech plays at a University, as compared to other institutions, as well as his perspective on free speech issues at Yale as a practicing administrator. Professor Smith will examine the history of free speech at Yale, especially the times surrounding the formation of the Woodward Committee and the Woodward Report, which is still the foundation document for free speech policy at Yale.

Reception and Yale Medal Dinner
6:00 p.m.

The Yale Medal Dinner is a festive opportunity to honor both present and past recipients of Yale’s highest award for service. The Yale Medal strives to honor those who serve Yale best, no matter what their area of service. This year’s recipients will be Malcolm K. Brachman ’46, Walter H. Brown ’45W, Richard Gilder ’54, J. Robert Mann, Jr. ’51E, and Ian Mininberg ’34 Mus.

Reception and Whiffenpoofs Concert
9:00 p.m.

Immediately following the conclusion of the Yale Medal dinner, delegates and guests are invited to an after hours reception and private concert by the Yale Whiffenpoofs of 2002.

Saturday, April 27, 2002

Continental Breakfast
7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Continental breakfast will be available in the Yale Law School Dining Hall.

Presidential University Update
8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

Yale President Richard C. Levin ’74 PhD will comment on the role of free speech at Yale and provide a general update on University affairs.

Second Assembly Session
Principles in Practice: Student Perspectives on Free Speech at Yale
10 – 11 a.m.

Delegates and alumni will have the opportunity to choose from among four breakout sessions where students will share their views on free speech at Yale. The breakouts may include the following sessions:

Student Publications: Who Says What and Where?; Social and Political Views: Advocacy and Activism on the Yale Campus; Resolved – Yale Needs a Hate Speech Code: A Yale Political Union Debate; and Unspoken Words: Tacit Constraints on Free Expression at Yale.

Free Speech Day at Yale
11:15 – 12:45 p.m.

Delegates and guests will have a unique opportunity to see free speech in action! On this day, Beinecke Plaza will be the site of a free speech bazaar, a kind of “Hyde Park at Yale” where student groups will staff booths and exercise their right to free speech. Alumni will be able to see for themselves the range of opinions and depth of passions held by current Yale students.

Community Service Summer Fellowship Luncheon
12:45 – 2:15 p.m.

This annual luncheon in University Commons provides a special opportunity for alumni to honor the thirty-two outstanding students who are this year fulfilling Yale’s ongoing commitment to service. We will welcome the fellows who have been selected for community service placements in sixteen states, the District of Columbia and Hong Kong. Some sponsoring club and class representatives will be present and many former fellows will also join us.

Final Assembly Session
Hard Cases: Faculty and Issues of Inquiry
2:30 – 4 p.m.

For our final session, we will be learning about free speech, free expression and free inquiry from a faculty perspective. After a short plenary where each faculty member will introduce his or her case, we will break out into groups and wrestle with cases that expose the often difficult issues of free speech in an academic environment. We will look to the arts, the research sciences and the tenure system to see how members of the faculty meet challenges to free speech, free expression and free inquiry. To conclude, we will come together to de-brief the breakouts, and Assembly Chair Mark Greenwold will close out this engaging gathering.

Yale Theater or Music
6:30 p.m.

For alumni and guests who choose to stay on in New Haven after the Assembly is closed, we are offering the opportunity to have dinner in one of the residential colleges, followed by either a Yale Glee Club Concert or a performance of Iphigeneia at Aulis by Euripides. Please see the registration form for prices and to register for these events.