Board Meeting, Minutes - November 18th, 2007

Chippewa Valley Civil Liberties Union

Meeting Minutes

November 18, 2007

Law office of David Rice, 116 West Grand Ave.

NEXT MEETING: JANUARY 27, 7 P.M. DAVID RICE’S OFFICE (tentative)

Board members present: Ann Heywood (presiding), Jeremy Gragert, Warren Lang, Mildred Larson, Nicholas Passell, David Rice

Absent: Myron Buchholz, Bob Nowlan, Geri Segal

1. Call to order/ welcome

Heywood called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. and welcomed new board members Warren Lang and David Rice.

2. Approval of Minutes

Minutes of the September 10 board meeting were approved as distributed.

3. Treasurer’s report

Passell reported that we have about $350.00. He will send a report by e-mail.

4. Orientation of new members

Heywood distributed copies of the list of annual activities by CVCLU board members and discussed board member responsibilities. She also mentioned her concern that board officers need to turn over in an orderly fashion.

5. Election of board officers

The following officers were elected:

Jeremy Gragert, president; David Rice, vice-president; Ann Heywood, secretary; Nicholas Passell, treasurer

6. Review of fundraiser and annual meeting

Board members were pleased with attendance at the fundraising dinner at the Haymarket Grill. There was some concern that the food was just Ok and there wasn’t enough eggplant or chicken in those dishes.

The panel presentation on Alternatives to Incarceration, with attendance of 45, went well. Passell and Heywood wondered if it was sufficiently focused on civil liberties. Larson commented that prison issues are a continuing ACLU concern on the national and state levels, so programs that avoid incarceration could be within our ken. Heywood noted that activist public meetings invigorate the audience. Gragert suggested that Emilio de Torre, Youth and Civil Liberties coordinator on the state level, could be invited to present a program on guerrilla theater. Gragert will follow up with Emilio on student alliances.

7. Report on NWEA Convention presentation by Larry Dupuis, ACLU of Wisconsin legal director, on the Bill of Rights

Heywood reported that a total of 40 teachers attended Dupuis’s two presentations. They were very interested and developed some ideas for activities in the classroom. Being visible at the convention is valuable to CVCLU.

8. Banned Books celebrations report

Heywood reported that the Banned Books Week reading at the library on Wednesday, sponsored by the Young Adult Advisory Board, had outstanding readers and was enjoyed by the readers and their families. The more light-hearted traveling event on Thursday which involved the L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, the Altoona Library, and Borders Books Music and Cafe had no more than eight people total attending, so this format will not be repeated. Ann emailed with Bess Arneson about what works and does not work and how to get more involvement next year. Readings should continue. Ideas include asking readers to find books that have been recently challenged and give a little history about why, and asking UW-EC students to participate. Bess welcomes more input from the CVCLU, including helping to think of readers who might draw audience. We should approach the event planners next spring to help with the 2008 event.

Lang suggested holding an event at the Menomonie Public Library next year. He will help with it. We should begin planning that event in the spring too. We could involve the English department at UW-Stout. Would students get extra credit?

9. Report from ACLU-WI Activist Conference

Larson and Gragert reported that the ACLU-WI Activist Conference, November 17, was lively and energetic. The organization is focusing on restoring voting rights to the formerly incarcerated. Real ID is a new issue in Wisconsin. Larson will make copies of information distributed at the conference.

10. Veterans Day program report

Lang reported that the November 10 Veterans for Peace program was very moving.

11. Requests for help

Heywood received a request for help from a resident of the Hawkins school district who believes that she is being taxed without representation because her district must pay for some students to go the Ladysmith school district where she would prefer they go to the Flambeau District. The board agreed this wasn’t a civil liberties issue as the school consolidation issue had been voted on in a referendum. Racial profiling in Eau Claire? An article in the Leader Telegram of November 4, 2007, about a police visit to an African American owing $400 in child support, suggests there may be racial profiling in Eau Claire. Gragert will e-mail the article to the board for further discussion and possible action.

12. Area schools’ holiday concert monitoring

Lang will check on the high school Christmas concert in Menomonie. Heywood will monitor North High.

13. Planning for Anthony Romero visit February 7

Gragert, Larson, Lang and Heywood will meet for lunch at 12 noon, December 13, at the Grand Avenue Café, to plan publicity for Romero’s visit. Larson will have publicity material sent from UWEC to the state office so they can send a mailing to area members. Gragert will check on arrangements and find ways to involve interested students.. Heywood will order materials and membership blanks for a display table.

14. Next meeting

Next meeting tentatively set for Sunday, January 27, 7 p.m. at David Rice’s office.

15. Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

Submitted by Mildred Larson, Secretary pro tem