Today in Berkeley, speak out against GMO, and speak up for Ignacio Chapela

[Guest guest]

PLEASE TAKE ACTION IN SOLIDARITY WITH DR IGNACIO CHAPELA - STAND UP FOR ACADEMIC

FREEDOM!

 

CALL TO ACTION *TODAY*: Show solidarity with Ignacio Chapela on the day of his

last

class at UC Berkeley

 

An outspoken critic of the University of California Berkeley's ties to the

biotechnology

industry, Dr. Ignacio Chapela had his tenure denied after he and fellow Berkeley

scientist, David Quist, published an article demonstrating that native corn in

Mexico

had been contaminated by genetically engineered corn.

 

Chapela and Quist's Nature article represented a major piece of evidence

repudiating

biotech industry claims of safety. As a result of a well-coordinated industry

campaign,

Nature's editor all but retracted the article, questioning its accuracy in an

unprecedented

editorial. Yet 3 of the 4 Nature reviewers of the criricism of the original

article

suggested only minor changes to Quist and Chapela's report.

 

The industry effort to damage Dr. Chapela's professional reputation has

subsequently

led to the unfair denial of his tenure.

 

Dr Chapela's tenure denial came in the face of overwhelming support by his peers

at the University of California and around the world. He was denied tenure

despite

the near-unanimous support of the reviewers of his tenure both from within and

beyond

Dr Chapela's department

 

CALL TO ACTION: Show solidarity with Ignacio Chapela on the day of his last

class

at UC Berkeley

 

If you're within travelling distance of Berkeley, join Ignacio's last (hopefully

not!) class and the subsequent march to the Chancellor's office at California

Hall.

 

IF YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO GET TO BERKELEY THIS THURSDAY SEE BELOW FOR HOW TO SHOW

SOLIDARITY

WITH DR CHAPELA

 

Chapela's last class is on Thursday, Dec. 9th from 8:00 - 9:30 AM. in 141 McCone

Hall, UC Berkeley. Followed by 9:30-10 AM march to California Hall. After 10 AM

there will be speakers and more... Here's the Event Flyer .doc file

http://www.tenurejustice.orgAcademic%20Freedom.doc

 

Ignacio Chapela's contract with UC Berkeley ends December 31, 2004.

 

Dr Chapela has been courageously outspoken and critical of the biotech industry

and its connections to academic research and in particular its connections to UC

Berkeley.

 

It's time to stand up for academic freedom and tenure justice in the face of

corporate

power and the industrial alignment of science.

 

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO JOIN EVERYONE IN BERKELEY, YOU CAN STILL HAVE AN IMPACT:

 

1. Call, fax, or email the Berkeley chancellor's office. A sample letter/talking

points, along with contact information, can be found at the end of this email.

 

YOU CAN E-MAIL YOUR PROTEST VIA GM WATCH, IT'LL ONLY TAKE A MINUTE:

http://www.gmwatch.org/proemail1.asp?id=7

(copy and paste the whole link into your browser, if necessary)

 

If enough people contact the chancellor's office, preferably Thursday morning or

afternoon, we will make a huge statement that they will not be able to ignore.

If

you can't do it on Thursday, please contact their office whenever you can.

 

2. Forward this email to as many list-servs, groups, and people you know.

 

3. If you're in the Berkeley area, print out the flyer and post it around your

schools,

workplaces, and communities.

http://www.tenurejustice.orgAcademic%20Freedom.doc

 

4. Write letters to any relevant publications.

 

5. Wear a ribbon around your arm as a symbol of support. This is an ongoing

symbol

that we will be wearing through Thursday and beyond. We are going to be using

red

and green ribbons intertwined and tied around the arm. Though, any ribbon will

do.

See www.tenurejustice.org for more information.

 

6. Join the Tenure Justice Campaign list-serve for future actions at

www.tenurejustice.org

The Tenure Justice website has all of the up to date informatio on this action

on

Thursday, plus all the backround stuff on Ignacio's case.

 

7. Make a donation to the Pulse of Science Fund. Email tenurejustice

with " donation " in the subject line for more information.

 

Brief Background on Dr. Chapela's Case:

Dr. Chapela had his tenure denied after he spoke out against the 5 year, $25

million

contract between Novartis Corporation (one of the world's largest biotechnology

companies) and the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley, and after he

published

an article in Nature in November 2001 that demonstrated the presence of

engineered

genes in native corn in Mexico (A 1998 law had made it illegal to plant

transgenic

corn in Mexico.) Although he had overwhelming support from his peers reviewing

his

case (59 supported tenure, while only 3 recommended against tenure) the budget

committee

(which included one professor with financial ties to the biotechnology industry

and academic ties to Novartis) voted against tenure, and the chancellor upheld

their

vote.

Fore more information or to to the Tenure Justice list:

www.tenurejustice.org

---

Sample Letter/Talking Points to be used when you call, email, or fax the

Chancellor.

Also, please CC the Regents: regentsoffice

 

ALTERNATIVELY YOU CAN E-MAIL YOUR PROTEST VIA GM WATCH:

http://www.gmwatch.org/proemail1.asp?id=7

 

If you wish to fax or call the Regents go to

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/contact.html

---

Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau

Office of the Chancellor

200 California Hall #1500

Berkeley, CA 94720-1500

(510) 642-7464 Fax: 510-643-5499

chancellor

 

Dear Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau,

 

The tenure process for Professor Ignacio Chapela of the Department of

Environmental

Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) has been extraordinary. After three years

and much international attention, Chancellor Berdahl denied tenure despite the

near-unanimous

support from the reviewers from within and beyond ESPM. Additionally there was

an

obvious conflict of interest with one of the faculty members on the budget

committee

reviewing Ignacio ChapelaÂ’s case. We are concerned that this appears to be not

only

a failure of the review process, but also that it may represent the stifling of

academic freedom and an assault on the credibility of the University of

California.

 

We Demand:

 

1. A clear and simple statement from yourself, the new chancellor, regarding

your

position and plan of action with respect to this case

2. That an impartial body (preferably from outside the UC system) examine

 

· What conflicts of interest were present in the tenure review process

· How those conflicts of interest shaped the outcome

· The reasons why the budget committee contradicted its own ad hoc committee of

experts

· The reasons why the chancellor recommended against tenure despite

overwhelming

support from Ignacio's department, anonymous external reviewers, and the greater

academic community

 

and

3. To extend Professor Chapela's term of employment while an investigation is

underway.

 

Sincerely,

 

(Your Name)