UC Berkeley press release

NEWS RELEASE, 4/2/97

Next Week at UC Berkeley--April 7 through 13 Events of interest to the press and public

by Lyn Hunter

Tuesday, April 8--The British Are Coming! Cal Battles Cambridge and Oxford in Debate

A revolutionary war of words will be fought when students from England's Cambridge and Oxford universities team up against Berkeley students in a lively debate over global nuclear proliferation. The British employ a different debate system than the United States so accents as well as style will be in contrast when the two teams of undergraduates meet.

The event will be held in the auditorium of the International House located at 2299 Piedmont Ave. The debate begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The events is sponsored by the office of Student Activities and Services. (Media Contact: Hal Reynolds (510) 642-6772)

Thursday, April 10 and Friday, April 11--Media Portrayal of War Crimes and Genocide

The role of the media in reporting acts of genocide, such as the war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and the atrocities in Rwanda, will be the topic of discussion when journalists and international experts convene for "Reporting From the Killing Fields: A Conference on Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and War."

On April 10 at 8 p.m., Justice Richard Goldstone, former chief prosecutor for the international criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, will give a public lecture in Boalt Hall's Booth Auditorium. His lecture is titled, "Exposing Crimes Against Humanity, the Role of the Media."

On April 11, foreign correspondents, including reporters from CBS News and the New York Times, historians, legal experts and human rights organizers will examine how the media portrays genocide and how it can improve. The event, held in the Bechtel Engineering Center's Sibley Auditorium, begins at 9 a.m. and is free and open to the public. (Media Contact: Eric Stover (510) 642-0965)

Saturday, April 12--Can Moral Values and Contemporary American Sports Co-Exist?

After a much publicized dispute in which a professional baseball player spit on an umpire during a game last season, it seemed that dignity in sports had finally struck out. To many, the incident exemplifies a growing trend of moral decline in sports. To address this issue, UC Berkeley Professor Brenda J. Bredemeiera has organized a conference that will explore the moral issues facing athletes and sports organizations.

The "Ethics and Sport Conference" includes former Cal star and "dream team" member Kevin Johnson, sports writers Joan Ryan and Monte Poole, and U.S. Olympics Committee member Carole Oglesby. They will discuss such subjects as homophobia in sports, gender equity and the capacity of athletes to be good role models. The event begins at 9 a.m. in 2040 Valley Life Sciences Building. (Media Contact: Alix Schwartz (510) 642-8378).

Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13 -- Conference Examines "Whiteness"

In the first meeting of its kind, the study of whiteness will come under academic scrutiny at a three-day conference that is free and open to the public. "The Making and Unmaking of Whiteness" will bring together scholars from a number of fields to consider whiteness as a specific race and as a social category that has played a central role in perpetuating inequality.

Panels will meet each day beginning at 9 a.m. on April 11 in the Lipman Room of Barrow Hall. The event concludes with a bag lunch April 13. For details, see the conference web site at http://violet.berkeley.edu/~ethnicst/conference/main.html (Media Contact: Birgit Rasmussen (510) 845-1939 or Matt Wray (510) 658-7584.)


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