One Week Later: SOPA and PIPA

Picture from hypervocal.com

Web-based companies such as Google, Wikimedia, Mozilla Firefox and more recently heralded the abrupt end of SOPA and PIPA as a victory.  However, as I touched upon last week in a blog post about the importance of my generation in internet-related issues, this victory should also be attributed to the hundreds of thousands of high school and college students who voiced their opposition to SOPA and PIPA.  Over the course of one day, where thousands of calls were placed and just as many emails were sent to representatives urging their opposition to SOPA and PIPA, the number of Senators and members of the House of Representatives in support of SOPA and PIPA quickly faltered.  

After the destruction of SOPA and PIPA, I witnessed many members of my generation celebrating their victory and realizing, for the first time, the power of their voices.  Regardless of the merits of SOPA and PIPA, I am thankful to see the spark that these bills created within many high school and college students.  I am hopeful that this triumph will inspire more activism and cooperative action within my generation.  I am hopeful that we will no longer be considered apathetic.  Overall, I believe that the issues raised by SOPA and PIPA were catalysts that motivated us because they dealt with issues that are important to us.  I am excited to see what we do next. 

Hannah Finnie is a Freshman at Emory University and is a work-study student for the Center for Ethics and the Ethics and Servant Leadership (EASL) Program.

Spotlight on Ethics: A Conversation with Carlton Mackey about Ethics & Art

Carlton Mackey, Chair of the Ethics & the Arts Initiative at the Emory University Center for Ethics discusses the incorporation of art into the work of the Center for Ethics in this latest installment of Spotlight on Ethics. The mission of this initiative is to transform ethical scholarship through the arts. To learn more about the Ethics & the Arts Initiative visit http://www.ethics.emory.edu.

Emory Center for Ethics and the Alliance Theatre present Readings from "The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls"

*UPDATE*
Need tickets to see "The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls"?
There will be a 15% discount on tickets for those who attend this event.

Rallying For a Cause: My Generation’s Response to SOPA and PIPA

Recently, there has been a frenzy relating to SOPA and PIPA.  Although they have two different names, SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (the Protect IP Act) are in fact two versions of the same bill.  As the two bills began their respective travels through both the House of Representatives and the Senate, they received two different names.  Both are targeted at ending online piracy, which currently enables widespread illegal downloading in the United States.  The cause of the uproar, however, lies in the potential violation of free speech that this bill, should it pass, could cause.  Any company that is angered over illegal downloading of say, a song by a musician they represent, would be able to legally have the web site completely shut down.  In contrast, the current laws simply require that the illegal material be removed.  If the new bill were to pass, the potential for abuse of power by media conglomerates would be enormous. 

Picture from buzzbox.com

The frenzy, however, has not been solely confined to the corporate world.  Many members of my generation, a mix of college and high school students, have started taking action.  Although many of my friends support various causes, there is no one cause that my entire generation has rallied behind.  However, when I logged onto facebook yesterday, I was astounded to see that around half of my facebook “friends” had posted something relating to SOPA and PIPA.  Many participated in energetic debate evaluating the possible merits and disadvantages of the bill.  Others posted links which enabled you to contact your Representative voicing your opinion on SOPA and PIPA.  I had not seen so much unified enthusiasm within my generation for any particular issue since my high school had an unexpected snow day the previous winter.  

Many members of older generations complain that my generation is complacent.  The 1960’s was dominated by the civil rights movement, the 1970’s hosted anti-war protests, and the 1980’s was the rise of the gay rights movement.  Of course, many of these causes are still being fought today, as they should be.  Still, there are other causes that students around the nation have tirelessly supported, such as protecting the environment and human rights.  However, there has been no one movement that has caused us to come together and rally behind—until now.  Perhaps it is because we are the technology generation, and part of our identity lies within our connection to the internet.  For better or for worse, we are defined by our interdependent relationship with the web.  Our recent outcry in response to SOPA and PIPA has shown that we are not complacent or apathetic, as many members of other generations seem to believe.  Instead, we had not yet found the issue that had the ability to energize and unite us for a cause.  In SOPA and PIPA, we, the technology generation, have found our issue. 
 -Hannah Finnie is a Freshman at Emory University and is a work-study student for the Center for Ethics and the Ethics and Servant Leadership (EASL) Program.

Emory Students Discuss Controversies Sparked by State of Race Event feat. Spike Lee

Spike Lee.
Photo by Carlton Mackey

Conversations initiated by Spike Lee continue below. Emory students have had mixed reactions to Mr. Lee’s address and his response to questions from the audience, such as, “What do you think of LGBT issues?” The proceeding students reflect on the purpose of the State of Race event as well as issues that were kicked up by Spike Lee and audience members. 

Conrad Honicker is an Emory student who is studying Women, Gender and Sexuality. He is also a Program Assistant at the Center for Women and a member of Emory’s Issues Troupe that performed during the State of Race event.

I think the conversation Lee left us with is happening. I understand the tenseness with Spike Lee's response on "what he thought about LGBT Issues." Instead of answering the question, he turned the tables in an obviously invalidating, condescending, and immature way on a young person (who held his ground very well). However, in a way, Lee did answer his question; by asking questions such as, "How old are you?" and "Who told you about this?" and "Do you have LGBT friends?" Compounded with the implicit homophobia in his feelings about HIV in the black community coming from "brothers on the down low -- not from needles," it seems that Lee is unversed in talking about LGBT issues if not ignorant and heterosexist towards the issue. That is, many people may consider themselves LGBT friendly, but in what circumstances and at what capacity?One thing to be mindful of, though, is that not everyone is perfect and completely well-versed in the languages of social justice and being sensitive to every type of person. Do I think Lee has a responsibility to be on top of how he speaks about LGBT people in a public space? Yes, but I want to emphasize a certain flexibility and patience I have with Lee. That is, it's not like he's not doing anything. The work he is doing and has done has made huge cultural impacts, and for that he needs to be recognized. In that recognition, though, he needs to recognize where he is and where he isn't.Overall, though, I think his talk was useful. The two main points I pulled from his address were 1) we have to talk about slavery and the genocide of the Native American people before we can start talking about race and 2) we have to take responsibility for our own hand in our struggles.

(left) Conrad Honicker and (right) Kendall Boone perform with the Issues Troupe.
Photo by Carlton Mackey

Kendall Boone is a Sociology Major at Emory. He is also a resident assistant, mentor, photographer for Black Star Magazine, and actor. He performed during the State of Race event as a member of the Issues Troupe.

I feel as though a lot of the controversy that has come out of the conversation is because it was titled State of Race and Spike Lee mainly talked about black white issues, and issues related to the black community. I didn’t see very much wrong with it because Spike Lee has historically been concerned about black white relations. In my experience, I can point out the difference he was talking about. Making fun of someone in AP classes makes sense to me and I understand why he chose the issue. What was important about his speech was that he acknowledged that. Does stereotyping really happen? Do they say, ‘why are you trying to act white’? It does happen.During the Q&A I was disappointed because Lee didn’t really answer any of the  questions. He answered whatever he wanted and by-passed the questions completely. If he is actually homophobic, I’m glad he didn’t voice that. That would be another conversation. The way Lee handled controversial questions showed that he is conscious of his power and of who he is.

College Council leaders address the audience.
Photo by Carlton Mackey

Rachel Kanter is a senior at Emory University and a Psychology major. She is also the College Council Vice President of programming.

The purpose of State of Race is to start a dialogue and raise questions about race. Spike Lee did just that-- challenging African American students at Emory to resolve issues in their own community and exploring the inherent racism of American society. An eclectic and provocative thinker, Spike Lee also spoke against the anti-intellectualism of the African-American community, the degrading images in hip-hop, and the teaching of American history that omits full discussion of slavery and the extermination and exploitation of Native Americans.Responses to the presentation varied widely. Some people were disappointed because Mr. Lee didn't give a formal speech, but instead, spoke extemporaneously, giving his frank opinions and personal stories. Others, however, found his direct style refreshing, and more engaging. Certainly, everyone left with an opinion. Following the address, the State of Race learnlink conference overflowed with students' reflections and remarks on the content and style of Mr. Lee's speech. Several students and faculty voiced the hope that the issues raised during the question and answer session regarding the Emory community will prompt further discussion and positive action. We are just proud to have brought him here, since Spike Lee is one of the most important cultural influences on the issue of race.

Thank you Conrad, Kendall and Rachel for your thoughtful and thought-provoking responses. At the Center for Ethics, it is our intention to house this type of dialogue, as a safe space for cultivating student and community engagement. We invite you to share your opinions on these topics, the State of Race, or other issues that are important to you and relevant to ethics. Post a comment to the blog or contact chpowel@emory.edu.

Women in Science, is pregnancy a "short-term disability"?

16 significant women in science for details visit: http://www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/

My entering class of 2002 at Emory University consisted almost entirely women with the exception of maybe 2-3 men in a large group of maybe 15 or so people. This super-sized class was a complete fluke--almost everyone who received offers from Emory chose Emory as their top pick that year to the chagrin of many fine graduate neuroscience programs. In retaliation, other schools moved their deadlines up the following year. I felt lucky to have such a large diverse class, like I had a better sampling of the population of future neuroscientists.

Center for Ethics Blogger Published in the AJC

The following article describes the ups and downs of building a career as a twenty-something American amidst unprecedented economic instability and unemployment. It is the story of how I got to the Center for Ethics. 

Like many of my peers, I went to graduate school to develop a more extensive repertoire of skills with the hope of jump-starting my career.When the economy tanked, I chose not to listen to all of the warnings about unemployment and have faith that with the right mix of important new relationships and arduous work, career options would appear.....

- Read more here 

"Finding a Job by First Finding Yourself"

Photo taken by Carlton Mackey

Catherine Powell contributes to the blog and various publicity projects at the Center for Ethics.